Promises of a Wandering Hero
by Neoalfa
Summary: He promised to be a Hero capable of saving everyone. But before that he made other promises he can't remember under a different name. How will Shirou react when he finds his lost past? - Shirou/Multi Mature Contents.
1. Opening (I)

**Opening (I)**

* * *

><p><em>Many stories begins during thunderous storms or raging blizzards, as if the weather itself reflect humanity's plights. In those stories the sky would rumble and cry in forewarning of the coming events.<em>

_What a load of crap. Things, both good and bad, usually happens when you'd least expect them and the weather couldn't care less either way. _

_Shinobu Maehara could attest as much. _

_The events that brought a change in her unremarkable life happened on an unremarkable day, triggered by an equally unremarkable apple._

* * *

><p>It was the morning of a early summer day.<br>Sunny and warm, maybe even a little too much for the first days of July but otherwise completely unremarkable.

Sixteen years old Shinobu Maehara was returning home after shopping for groceries. A particular bout of hunger of one of her dorm-mates left the pantry completely void of anything edible.

In all honesty, Shinobu couldn't understand how the little foreign girl Kaolla Su could eat even raw ingredients in such quantities without even the slightest stomachache afterward, but the fact remained that she was indeed capable of such feats and the rest of the residents had to suffer from the sudden void of food.

As the person in charge of the kitchen it fell upon her to solve the predicament and save the residents of the Hinata-sou from starvation. It was a chore but she didn't mind it. Cooking was one of the few things she was naturally good at and she took great pleasure in preparing better meals for her dorm-mates every day.

She was caught in such thoughts when she stopped at a crossroad, waiting for the light to turn green. Thinking about the other girls living at the Hinata a sigh escaped her lips.

She considered herself to be rather talentless individual with no remarkable feature especially in the feminine department. You could say she was rather petite and with very soft forms, which only served to make her feel underdeveloped. All the more so if compared to the other girls at her dorm. Even the hyperactive Kaolla could pull off being more womanly when she cut her childish antics and behaved.

Only Shinobu was constantly mistaken for a middle school girl, even if she was already a high school sophomore.

School. That was another touchy subject for the girl. She wasn't a bad or problematic student, far from that in fact, but her grades were average at best and socially speaking she was even worse. She didn't have any friend in her class or in the whole school for that matter. Her shy and soft spoken disposition prevented her from speaking her mind around her peers and she ended being all by herself every single day.

Her family instead... Well her family was something she preferred not to think about at all. They were the reason why she lived at the Hinata-sou by herself.

By herself, yes. Even if there were four other girls living under the same roof, who where friendly and gentle in her regards, she couldn't really connect with them. Mostly because each one of them had at least a trait she herself would have liked to have. Ever the sake loving, gambling addicted Mitsune _– Kitsune -_ Konno had more social skills than she did.

Kaolla playfulness and devil-may-care attitude made her being liked immediately by everyone despite her odd quirks.

Motoko Aoyama, the kendo practitioner girl heir to a school of sword in Kyoto, was the embodiment of the Japanese traditional beauty.

Finally, Naru Narusegawa was the national first at cram school for college and a beauty above average on top of that. Scratch that, she actually had to go to cram school disguised as a nerd to discourage the constant attempts from suitors and train molester. What sort of woman had to downplay her natural beauty?

They were all extraordinary women compared to which Shinobu felt… dull for lack of better words.

For her, life was neither good nor bad. Even her plights were insignificant to the point of not being worth of attention nor pity from someone.

A dull person in a very dull day. Shinobu was certain that she would grow up alone in a life caught between happy and sad without ever truly achieving either. Try as she might she couldn't imagine things changing anytime soon.

But changes, as it happens, never had the custom of forewarning, and more often than not they are triggered by seemingly meaningless things.

In Shinobu's instance it only took an apple.

It was at the top of the paper bag she held in her arms, stuffed with groceries to the brim. It was half-leaning against the paper surface in a seemingly stable position.

Perhaps Shinobu shifted her arms a little, perhaps the frail balance between two strengths was already as it limits, perhaps it was fate, but the fact remained that the bag gave in under the tiny weight and the apple toppled out.

She caught the movement with the corner of her eye and her hand shoot forward to catch the falling fruit, only for it to bounce on her fingers and spin forward.

Instinct followed and the girl stepped after the rogue apple. It bounced again in her palm before her small hand could catch it. Another step forward and this time she managed to hold it her grip.

She smiled at the small victory when another movement caught her attention to her left. She turned her head and her smile disappeared, her eyes widened and time began slowing down.

A truck was coming her way, too close and too fast to stop or dodge her. She was too unbalanced to jump forward or jump back.

She saw it coming her way.

She saw the terrified expression in the eyes of the driver, a mirror of her own.

She saw her life flash before her eyes.

Not a real friend, not a boyfriend, not a kiss.

_'__I don't want to die.'_

Dull days in the dull life of dull person.

_'__I don't want die.'_

Nobody would miss her. Nobody would cry for her loss.

_'__I want to live.'_

Nobody would remember her. The world would go on without nobody even noticing she wasn't there anymore.

_'__I want to live!'_

In those two shorts second she saw all that, then she shut her eyes bracing for the incoming impact. An impact that never came.

What she didn't see was the bike behind her coming in her direction at breakneck speed.  
>What she didn't see was the red haired rider whose attention was focused solely on her.<br>What she didn't see was the outstretched arm that grabbed her in the nick of time and whisked her away from certain death.

Instead of pain and the cold feeling of metal she heard the sound screeching tires and a firm hold around her waist. A sudden burst of acceleration and a mad spin accompanied by the angered honking of the truck. Then the madness finally stopped and all that remained was her hammering heartbeat, the warm feeling around her waist and the low rumble of an engine beneath her.

"Whew!" a male voice exclaimed in relief. "That was close. All you all right miss?"

Shinobu opened her eyes and found herself seated on a motorbike at a side of the road.

Alive.

She blinked and a few tears streamed down her cheeks. "Miss, are you all right?" The voice called again. She finally looked up and found herself staring from a short distance into a pair of golden eyes, owned by a red haired man who was looking down at her in concern.

"Oh!" Was all that Shinobu could say, still too shocked to form coherent sentences. "I… I'm… fine I guess…"

"You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?"

"N.. no. I… don't think so."

"Thank goodness," he exhaled. "You should really pay more attention when you cross the road."

"Ah. Yes. Thank you," she whispered. "I… I… Uwhaaaa….!" The entirety of the events finally sunk into her mind and her body shook in fear. She clutched the man's shirt and cried her heart out. "Whaaaaa…!"

All the red haired driver could do was awkwardly hold her a little tighter and rub her back in reassurance. Apparently dealing with crying girls wasn't his forte.

It took Shinobu five minutes to finally stop crying.

"Feeling better now?" He asked when the sobbing finally subsided. She nodded in response.

"Yes. Yes I'm fine now. I…" her eyes widened as she finally realized that she was being held in the arms of a complete, if well-intending, stranger. The blush on her face could have lit a room and threatened to set her face ablaze. "Ah.. Ah.. Ah.." she stuttered unintelligibly. Her shyness, now no longer forgotten, returned in full swing and her brain, too high on sudden emotions, dealt with the situation in the only way it knew.

Shinobu promptly fainted in the man's embrace.

"Oh, man," the biker with a now unconscious girl in his arms sighed. Definitely not his forte.

* * *

><p>Shinobu came to her senses around half an hour later. Opening her eyes she found herself staring at the clear sky and promptly pulled herself to a sitting position. She had been laying on a bench in a park not too far from the dormitory. How did she end up there again?<p>

"Are you feeling better now, miss?" A voice called from behind her. Startled, she turned around and met once again those golden eyes. The memories of the recent events returned and she yelped both in surprise and embarrassment.

She looked at the stranger who saved her life. He was looking at her with a gentle and sincerely concerned expression. He was dressed simply enough. A pair of jeans, sneakers, a white shirt underneath a black leather jacket. He had nothing out of the ordinary from the neck below.

His face was another matter altogether. He had the oddest pair of eyes under the most vivid tinge of red hairs ,save of a white fringe right above the middle of his forehead. He was slightly tanned and the color of his skin complemented his eyes giving him a roguish look.

From where he was seated Shinobu could guess that her head had been resting on his legs until moments before and a new wave of embarrassment washed over her.

"I.. I… I'm fine," She forced herself to answer. "Y… You saved my life. T-thank you."

"Ah, yes. You're welcome," he replied scratching his cheek sheepishly, apparently embarrassed by having his deed acknowledged. "It was nothing, really."

"I-it isn't nothing. I- I would have died if you… if you…," her voice died in her throat, fear returned as she remembered the incident.

"Well fortunately nothing happened. So it's ok, right?" He placed an hand on her shoulder to reassure her and to Shinobu's surprise the fear faded immediately. Her embarrassment however did not.

"R… Right," Shinobu agreed shyly. She didn't think that was the case but it wasn't like she had reason or even the strength of character to argue with him. "I… I should go back now. I.. have to go and buy everything again."

"Do you need any help?" He asked. "I can give you a ride if you want."

"I… there's no need. T-thank you. I l-live nearby."

"All right then," he said standing up and stretching his arms. "Make sure to watch your step this time around, alright?"

"I-I will be careful. I p-promise."

"Good. I guess this is goodbye then," he said, gathering his things and returning to his bike.

"Ano… w-w-what's your name?" She asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Oh, right. I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? I'm Emiya Shirou. Pleased to met you," he smiled. Shinobu couldn't help herself and blushed. He had a very nice smile.

"I-I-I… I'm M-M-Maehara Shinobu. P-P-Pleased to make your acquaintance."

With the introductions done, they walked together out of the park in silence.

"T-thank you again for helping me. I-I-I'm in your debt."

"Don't mind it. Just be careful, ok?"

"I will. G-Goodbye then."

"Goodbye, Maehara-san."

She turned around and run in the direction of the shops, almost tripping on her own foot at some point. When she was at the end of the road she turned around and waved her hand at him and he responded in kind. He watched her until she disappeared behind a corner.

"What a strange girl. I hope she'll be ok by herself," then he realized something and smacked his hand on his forehead. "Damn. I should have asked her for directions since she's from around here," he sighed. "How am I going to find that place now?"

He pulled a card from his jacket's pocket and read the address wrote on it.

"Hinata-sou, uh? Well, I'll better get moving if I want to find this place before tomorrow or I'll end up sleeping in the tent again."

He put the card back into his pocked, started the engine and rode off, his mind already drifting away from the clumsy girl he just met.

* * *

><p>Shinobu was back home over an hour later. Retuning to all the shops took her a lot of time she it was still early enough to make lunch. As she prepared pots and pans her hands kept trembling. The emotions of the day still lingered inside her. She never felt so scared her entire life, and at the same time she never felt her heart beating so hard as it did when she was with Emiya Shirou.<p>

She just couldn't clear her mind of the man that rescued her from a very painful if extremely rapid death. He came like the storm and snatched her from her unavoidable demise, just like a knight out of a fairy tale. She knew it was silly and that she wasn't going to see him ever again, but a girl could at least dream. Even better actually. If she didn't see him again she could indulge in this little fantasy of hers without making a fool out of herself around him. Yes, even if a romance like that would never become real for her, she could still dream about it.

"What are you doing Shinobu-san?" A voice behind her asked.

"KYAAA!" Shinobu screamed, nearly jumping out of her skin. "M-M-Motoko-senpai. You startled me."

"My apologies. I did not mean to scare you. Are you preparing lunch already?"

"Ah. Yes, that's what I'm doing," she explained, a little too eager to move the conversation away from the reason of her thoughts.

"Hm? You appear to be quite agitated today. Did something happen while you were out shopping?" There was no particular meaning in her question but Shinobu's mind was already down a particular lane and Motoko's question sounded like a specific accusation.

"N-N-No! N-N-Nothing happened. What could have ever happened? I didn't meet anyone. I didn't… ops," realizing she said too much she bit her tongue, but it was already too late. Motoko's eyes narrowed and her hand instinctively reached of the sword at her side.

"Have you been approached by someone? Have you been harassed? Shinobu-san, tell me who is the fiend that dared to touch you and will remove his head from his shoulders."

"M-Motoko-san!" she shrieked. She didn't want the swordswoman to after the man that saved her life, but she didn't want to tell her that her clumsiness almost got her killed. "N-nothing like that happened. I swear. I-I-I just met a man that helped me with my… my bags. He… he didn't do anything to me."

That didn't seem to calm the raven haired girl in the slightest.

"Shinobu-san. You should know better than to trust strangers. You might have got away safely this time but there's no telling what kind of hideous intents the scoundrel had for you."

"T.. That can't be. He was so nice to me…"

"I don't doubt he was," she nearly hissed. "That is the way they act, making you believe they have the best of intentions until you lower your guard. Shinobu-san!"

"Y-YES?"

"You must keep your guard up around men at all time. Is that clear?"

"Yes! I will!"

"Good, then…" Motoko trailed off as she sniffed the air. "Is something burning?"

"Waaah!" Shinobu shouted as she turned back to the food. "Oh noooo," she wailed. Another trip to the market was in order.

* * *

><p>Needless to say, lunch was consumed much later than usual and there was no keeping the reason from the rest of the girls. Soon everyone knew that Shinobu had been apparently assaulted by a molester and no amount of (feeble) denial from the girl dissuaded Motoko and Naru from their opinion.<p>

It didn't help that Kitsune kept teasing her about it, tying her tongue with embarrassment.

'_Aauuuu._ _I'm sorry Emiya-san,' _she thought as the girls discussed the pervert's punishment if he ever got close to Shinobu or any other girl._ 'It's my fault if they think you are a bad person.'_

"Ne, Is a pervert good to eat?" Kaolla asked out of the blue.

"No!" was the unanimous answer. The last thing anyone wanted was for Kaolla to set herself on a quest to get her piece of a man to taste. Literally. Even Kitsune with all her jokes wasn't that bad.

With lunch out of the way the Hinata-sou seemed to return to its peaceful self. The girls went about their businesses and the events of the morning were put aside as the one time occurrence they were supposed to be.

Too bad that the day was far from over and the figurative storm still hadn't hit them with the full power of its might.

* * *

><p>The bike spluttered as the engine stopped. The red haired man pulled the key out of the ignition and stared at the flight of stairs at his left.<p>

"It should be up there," he said to himself. "Took me half a day to find this place. This part of the city it's a maze."

After securing the bike to a nearby pole he began climbing toward his destination, blissfully unaware of the chaos he was about to stir.

* * *

><p>"Kaolla! Stop right there!" Naru shouted at the blonde girl. "Give back our clothes."<p>

Naru, Motoko and Kaolla decide to take a dip in the hot springs while Shinobu and Kitsune went out for a stroll. They had just left the hot water when the foreign student decided to pull a prank by stealing everyone's clothes from the changing room. Now they were chasing the youngest girl about the dorm clad only in the towels from the hot spring. In different circumstances they would have gone back to their room and got dressed but being in a exclusively female dorm they didn't bother. Besides if they didn't get those clothes back soon there was the chance they might not find them anymore.

"You gotta catch me if you want them back!"

"Kaolla-san! Enough with this charade," shouted an equally upset Motoko. "If you do not stop as of this moment I shall be forced to use my family techniques."

"You'd have to hit me!" she sing-sang challengingly.

"Is that so?" the raven haired swordswoman asked with false sweetness. "Then I suppose we have to find out if I really can or not."

"Wait Motoko-san!" Naru pleaded as she watched the girl behind her brandish her bokuto into a very familiar stance .

"Shinmei-ryu! **Zanganken**!" Motoko shouted swinging her blade. The air rippled in front of her like sending a wave of pressure in Naru's and Kaolla's direction.

"Noooo!" was all that Naru could say as the shockwave hit her sending her flying right into Kaolla's back. The two girls were thrown into the air all the way to the dorm's entrance door.

A door that slid open in that very moment.

* * *

><p>"Hello? Is there any-OMPH!" Shirou words were cut as two very naked female bodies crashed against him sending the three of them to the ground.<p>

They remained there for a few seconds before Shirou tried to pull himself up and assets the situation.

"Ow. What the -UGH?" His eyes widened as he realized what had hit him. In that moment a brunette looked up and locked her eyes with the red haired man. A few seconds of uncomfortable silence passed between them. "Er… Hi?" He said awkwardly.

"KYAAAAAAA!"

The girl's scream shook the entire building, almost deafening the man beneath her. Shirou's torture didn't last long as a powerful uppercut propelled him in the air and away from her. "PERVERT!" She shouted after him.

"A pervert?" a raven haired girl, naked like the others asked as she reached the scene, just in time for Shirou's body to crash into her.

"Ow, ow, ow." He said pulling himself up. "What the hell just.. uh?" Something soft squirmed beneath his hands. He looked down and saw what looked extremely like a naked breast, encased by his fingers. His eyes snapped up the meet the owner of said mammal glands.

"Shinmei-ryu," the young woman growled " **Zanganken**!" A powerful wave hit his stomach, sending him flying one more time. This time his landing wasn't as soft and his head hit violently against a wall, robbing him of his consciousness.

* * *

><p>Shirou opened his eyes a few minutes later only to find himself tied up with his hands behind his back.<p>

"Uhg? What the hell happened?" he asked to no one in particular. Judging by his current headache whatever had hit him would have killed any other man. He looked up and found himself staring at the pointed end of a very sharp katana. Following the blade all the way to the hilt he found the swordswoman, now dressed in a tradition hakama glaring down at him.

Behind her a brunette dressed in jeans and a white shirt was looking at him in the same manner with her arms crossed in front of her. At her side another girl, younger than the other two was looking at him with an amused expression.

"Justice happened, you fiend," the sword-wielding woman replied.

"Justice? Fiend?" Shirou blinked, not really sure of what was going on. It appeared that he had done something bad, but he couldn't understand what. The only thing he knew was that at some point a bunch of girls started beating him for no reason.

"Justice, indeed. Now, do you have any last words before I remove your presence from this world?" The swordswoman answered, lifting her sword to deliver the fatal blow.

"Whoa! Whoa! Hold on a minute!" He fidgeted. "Before beheading me could you at least explain me why I'm going to die?"

"You dare claim ignorance? Not only you try to force your perverted ways upon us, but you also try to escape from your just punishment by feigning ignorance?"

Now, Shirou was renowned for being a very polite person, more so toward the opposite gender, but that didn't mean he was going to let people accusing him of being some sort of molester.

"Now wait a minute. I came here looking for someone and I soon as I opened the door you girls started beating the shit out me."

"A likely story," the swordswoman scoffed. "Do you expect us to believe that you came to a female dorm looking for a friend of yours?"

"Exac –wait. A female dorm?" He asked. "Isn't this the Hinata-sou?"

"Yeah. So?" the brunette with long hair asked disdainfully.

"Uh. Isn't this Granny Hina's Inn?"

"You know Granny Hina?" The swordswoman and the brunette asked at the same time. "Just who the hell are you?"

He was about to respond when another voice cut in.

"What's going on here?" A tall woman with short dark hair walked in. She had a cigarette in her mouth and she was wearing an apron.

"Haruka-san. This pervert tried to molest us," the brunette said.

"I most certainly did not do such a thing," Shirou protested indignantly.

The woman turned her head to the man seated on the ground. Her eyes widened, seemingly in recognition.

"K… Keitaro?" She stuttered.

"Actually I go by the name of Emiya Shirou, but I've been told that's what how I was called before I was adopted. And you would you be?"

Swallowing a knot in her throat she answered shakily. "You… might not remember me after all this time but I… I'm Urashima Haruka and I'm your aunt.

Shirou eyes widened. It was one surprise after another.

* * *

><p>The girls reluctantly agreed to untie him but the swordswoman Motoko kept him under her gaze at all times.<p>

They sat around a table and Naru served tea for everyone, though she made it quite clear she didn't like the newcomer one bit.

"So… you're my aunt, Haruka-san?"

"Actually I'm your cousin, but the Urashima's family tree is a little contorted." She stared at him for a long moment. "My god you look so much like you mother," she breathed.

"You knew her? I have no memories of her."

"You… you don't remember her? You weren't that little when it happened."

"How can you possibly not remember your own mother?" Naru asked with disdain. Shirou leveled a glare at her that made her stand straighter against the back of her chair.

"There was a fire in Fuyuki city fifteen years ago. My parents died along with over five hundred other people. I have no memories from before then because of the trauma. I didn't even remember my real name. I had no ID on me and I've been adopted immediately after the incident. Until very recently I didn't even know I still had living relatives."

"I… Sorry."

"That is quite unfortunate," Motoko stated sincerely, "but it still doesn't explain your presence here nor your despicable behavior."

Shirou frowned at her choice of words but chose not to address it.

"A month ago I was returning from London when I accidentally run in a old lady at the Narita Airport. It was Granny Hina as you may imagine. Apparently she immediately recognized me as her grandson from the resemblance to her dead son and his wife. Of course I didn't actually believe that I was actually her long lost relative but she insisted she couldn't be mistaken. She asked to run a DNA test and I indulged her, mostly so that I could give her some peace of mind. I mean, it's not like there was any harm in it." They all nodded and he continued. "Imagine _my _surprise when it actually turned out that I was indeed her grandson."

"I think I can imagine. When she phoned me to tell me she had found you, Keitaro, I thought she had finally lost it, but she was adamant that you were alive. A few days ago she called me again to tell me you were coming over, but I still didn't believe her. She even sent me an envelope to give you once you arrived. I have it in my bag in the other room."

"Right. She mentioned something like that last I've heard her. … Did you know she was just leaving for a worldwide trip to the most famous hot-springs?"

"Yes," Haruka sighed. "She's quite lively for a woman in her seventies. Her mental health was my only concern as of late, but I can see now that I had no reason to worry."

"Anyway I mentioned her that I was trying to get into Tokyo U and that I was looking for a place to stay and a part-time job. My place back in Fuyuki is way too far to commute so I couldn't stay there. That's when she mentioned she had an Inn and told me that I could stay here. She never said anything it being a female dorm, though."

"That's strange," Haruka commented. "It's not like her to forget something like that. Maybe she wanted to pull a prank on you. And on the girls as well."

"Are you sure she isn't just getting senile?" Shirou offered a tad bitterly.

"That… might also be the case," Haruka admitted. "Maybe we will know more once you open the envelope she left you. I'll go get it."

"Thank you." She left and returned a few moments later with a manila envelope that she passed to him. He quickly opened it and scanned its contents. "Well I'll be damned," he finally said.

"What? What does it say?" Haruka asked. Shirou answer was to pass her the papers so that she could read them herself. Her eyes widened as run them on the word, then a faint smirk formed on her lips "Hmm. Looks like the old bat can still pull out a few tricks."

Shirou answer was to rub his eyes wearily.

"What?" Naru asked. "What does it says?"

Haruka answered with a shrug and gestured at Shirou. "Girls. Meet the Hinata new manager and landlord, Urashima Keitaro."

In the ensuing they could have heard a pin drop. Then all hell broke loose.

Shinobu and Kitsune, who were just returning from their stroll, heard it long before the building was even in sight.

"WHAAAAAAT?"

Really, Shirou didn't expect the day to become so troublesome. For some reason, he didn't think it was going to get much better over time.

* * *

><p>-XXX-<p>

* * *

><p>First published: 02.02.2012<br>Last Edited: 05.11.2015  
>Beta: none<br>Author Notes removed.


	2. Settling in

**CHAPTER 2 -SETTLING IN**

* * *

><p>Shirou's eyes snapped open. The transition from asleep to awake was immediate. Years of waking up early left the twenty-one years old male with the ability to shred off his sleep with a mere blink of his eyes<p>

He pulled himself to a sitting position and took in the surroundings. He was in traditional Japanese room furnished with simplicity. There was just a wardrobe, a low table, a shelf and the futon he was currently in.

He slipped out of the cover and stretched his limbs. The smell of summer, filled with promises of sunny days, washed over him. He had missed Japan a great deal. Nearly four years abroad left him with the desire to come back to his homeland.

The past month had been hectic to say the least and it had greatly impacted on his plans. For one he didn't manage to pass the exams and enter Toudai. Granted, he had very little time to prepare for it and on top of that he had stumbles on his long lost family as soon as he stepped on Japanese soil. An event that could upset even someone like him.

What annoyed him the most was having barely missed the mark despite the unfavorable circumstances. Just a little more and he would have made it.

He shrugged the thought away. There was no use in dwelling on it. The best thing he could do about that was preparing for the next year's exam. Besides it wasn't like he didn't have anything else to think about.

His current situation was… amusing to say the least. Having suddenly become the manager of an all-girls dorm was an unexpected experience. A sentiment that was shared by his tenants.

* * *

><p><span>The previous evening<span>

"This is absolutely unacceptable," an enraged Motoko shouted. "A man cannot be the manager of a female dorm."

"Calm down Motoko," Mistune Konno said. "There's no reason to get bothered over this.

"T-That's right," Shinobu Maehara agreed.

They had joined the discussion upon returning to the dorm. Introduction were made but Shinobu made it clear with her behavior that she didn't want to bring up the morning's event and Shirou was receptive enough to understand when she introduced herself as if they never met before. '_She must have her reasons.'_ Shirou reasoned. Besides it wasn't like he wanted to cash any sort of reward or even an acknowledgment for that matter.

"What?" Naru cut in. "It's completely inappropriate."

"I have to agree," Shirou confirmed. Silence fell upon them at his declaration. "What? It's obvious that a man shouldn't be the manager of an all-girls dorm. Who do you take me for?"

"Well, every boy I know would give an arm for this kind of chance, y'know Emiya-kun?" Mitsune commented.

"I don't know what kind of men you acquaint yourself with but I certainly know what's appropriate and what's not."

"Oh. I didn't know you played for the other team, Keitaro," Haruka absentmindedly as she went through the papers.

If they expected him to protest indignantly they were wrong

"I hardly feel the need to affirm my sexuality by jumping at every chance I've got with the opposite gender. And it's Shirou, least you don't want me to call you aunt, Haruka-san."

"Shirou it is then."

"Well, "Motoko began "since we all agree that Emiya-san presence here is not required we can call this matter close."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Haruka said while looking at the documents from Granny Hina. "It says here that if Shirou doesn't take the job, the dorm will be turned back into an Inn. This means that if you girls can't pay the new fee you'd have to leave, and that other customers will come to stay here regardless of gender.

The tenants' reaction was pretty much the same.

"EEEEEEEEH? No way!"

"Why would she do that?" Motoko asked.

"Well, for what I can see here the rent you girls pay is barely enough to cover for the expenses and hiring a manager from outside would cost a lot more. By having Kei –Shirou here doing the job in exchange for the living and a minimum wage is the best deal we can strike. The Urashima are well off but not even we are going to keep up a losing business. Sorry girls."

"Then… Then why don't you do it, Haruka?" Naru asked.

"I can't do it. I have my tea house to run. There's no way I can take this job as well. There would be Kanako but she's studying abroad. I'm not going to ask her to just drop everything and come back here."

"Kanako? Who's that?" Shirou asked. Haruka looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"Wait… are you telling me that Granny Hina didn't tell you a single thing about your sister? Just what the hell was she thinking?"

"I… sister? I have a sister…? B… How?"

"She was staying here when the… incident happened. The two of you used to be so close that we'd bet the tow of you would get married one day. She was devastated more by your death than your parents'. My god. I'd bet the old hasn't told her yet."

"W.. Wait. I'm not following you here. How could I ever marry my own sister? And why wouldn't she tell her I'm alive?"

"Kanako's adopted," she explained. "I've told you the Urashima family tree is contorted. As for not telling her I can understand her reasons. She never truly accepted your death and if she knew you are alive she would throw her schooling to the wind just to come back. She's under exams right now. I'll make sure she knows once she's finished. You'd better be prepared to be hugged to death."

"I… I don't know what to say." Shirou mumbled cradling his head in his hands. "I guess it didn't sink in until now. I mean, it was great to find my relatives but I didn't have the chance to dwell so much on it in the last month. I've barely seen Granny a couple of times and in both instances I was rather busy. We didn't have a chance to reconnect."

"A-Are you feeling alright Emiya-san?" Shinobu asked concerned. Shirou lifted his gaze and smiled, making her blush.

"I'm okay, I guess. I'm just a little overwhelmed."

"I don't mean to sound insensitive but we are getting off topic," Motoko observed and Shirou nodded. "It appears we don't have much of a choice at this point. We all have very specific reasons to be here and finding another accommodation with such a short notice is simply not feasible. We have no choice but to accept Emiya-san as the manager for the time being."

"But Motoko we…," Naru begun but was immediately cut off.

"I know, Naru-san, but there is no alternative as of now. Is there anyone against Emiya-san being our manager?"

"I... I don't want to go back," Shinobu whimpered

"I don't think I can find anywhere cheaper than this. I'm in," Mitsune agreed while eyeing the only male in the room like a predator. Shirou felt a familiar shiver down his spine, the same feeling he had every time he was about to be exploited by a certain woman.

"I don't like this one bit but I agree," Naru conceded slumping in her chair.

"Kaolla agrees if Shirous plays with her sometimes," the foreign girl beamed. She seemed to be the only enthusiast of the group.

The only one with his hand raised to affirm his opposition was Shirou himself. They all looked at him with varying degree of pleading in their eyes. He sighed and dropped his hand

"Sigh. There's no way I could be at peace with myself if you end up being evicted only because I'm picky about my living arrangements."

A collective sigh of relief filled the room.

"Then we are in agreement. However Emiya-san I want you to know that any perverted behavior will not be tolerated. If an event like before happens again I will make sure you are properly punished."

"Hey! You are still making it sound like I did that on purpose. You girls jumped on me and I wasn't the one running streaker around the dorm."

"That's because no male was supposed to come here," Naru rebuffed in anger and embarrassment.

"So that makes it right for you to run around in the buff? I think not. Besides I won't be held responsible for any incident of this kind just because you're used to not have men around. Are we clear on this?" They all nodded, a few begrudgingly so. They didn't like having their freedom restricted. "Then I have no other reasons to complain. I will assume my duties starting tomorrow. I think that an inspection of the entire building is in order in the first place. If you are okay with it I will do your rooms in the afternoon so you'll have to put in order anything you feel the need to. Is that all right with you all?"

They all agreed.

"You know Shirou, you seem already used to live under the same roof and take charge with the opposite gender. Anything we should know about?" Haruka asked teasingly. Shirou shrugged in response.

"I've been living with five girls back in Fuyuki and I've shared a flat with one of them in London. I'm used to be around women," He explained. _'Though that hasn't made it any easier to deal with them.'_ He thought to himself.

"You lived with five girls before and you have problems being the manager here?" Haruka asked with incredulity.

"What has that to do with anything? All of those girls were close friends of mine who came to live with me due to particular circumstances I'm not at liberty to share."

"Wow. And your parents didn't have anything to say to that?" Mitsune asked with a grin.

"Our parents, mine as well as theirs, were all dead by then," Shirou explained calmly. "And before you ask, yes, I've been orphaned twice. My foster father died of an illness five years after adopting me and I've been living by myself for the following five years."

Mitsune winced at her involuntary faux pas. "Sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"It's all right. You couldn't have known. Besides it's not something I've problems talking about. It's been eleven years now."

"And you really expect us to believe that you've been living with five girls for an entire year unsupervised and you didn't try anything with them?" Naru asked with clear anger in her voice. Something Shirou didn't miss but couldn't understand. He just narrowed her eyes at her.

"Frankly I don't expect you to believe anything at all, Narusegawa-san. I honestly don't care what your opinion of me is, though it's painfully clear you think I'm some sort of molester or sexual predator. Suits yourself, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. Besides, it's not like there's anything I can say that will make you change your opinion of me, is there?" Silence followed his question. "Thought so. Well, if that's all I'd like to talk with you Haruka. I want to get to know my family a little better before I discover I have yet another sibling form a third party. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Come over to my tea shop once you've done moving your stuff and we'll talk."

"Thank you. I'll be there shortly."

They spent the evening talking about their relatives. Apparently the Urashima were a rather big family with a fair number of successful businesses. Of all of the Shirou's family was the humblest of all, as they owned a simple bakery.

He also asked Haruka about his tenants but she didn't know much about that except for the fact that they all had some troubles with their respective families. She didn't know where Motoko and Naru's distrust of males came from but Shirou had all the intentions to be on his best behavior around them. Besides he was sure that they would warm up to him once they were sure he wasn't about to assault them.

There was another thing that concerned him, though. Something he couldn't discuss with Haruka or with anybody else in the entire city. When he accepted the hospitality from his grandmother he had thought that while in a public place he would have been left to his own doing, thus allowing him to dedicate himself to his less mundane interest. Now with a kendoist watching over him like a hawk there was no way he could set up his workshop and that also meant that his collection had to be left in Fuyuki city. It was a major setback, but something he had to deal with.

He returned to the dorm but all of his tenants had already retired in their rooms. Not wanting to force his presence he went to what Haruka told him was his room and after unpacking what little luggage he had with him he went to sleep.

* * *

><p><span>Present time<span>

Shirou finished dressing as he went over the previous day's events. He could tell that getting along with his tenants was going to be a difficult task but it was something he had to deal with. Actually he could have returned to his home back in Fuyuki but he didn't feel like imposing his presence after more than three years of absence and he really wanted to reconnect with his relatives. Plus with his newly imposed responsibility he couldn't possibly ignore the people who needed him even if they didn't like him at all.

Knowing that he decided to make the best out of the current situation and start the new day properly. Which translated as making a breakfast worth of the gods. Humming to himself he left his room and went for the kitchen.

There wasn't much in the pantry to work with but he had worked with less and still got great results. Besides his whole life could be resumed as him bringing out the best out of what little he had.

Fifteen minutes later the smell of a delicious meal reached the nostril of Shinobu who was already getting ready for the day. Surprised that somebody had took over her duties in the kitchen she quickly made her way over there only to find Shirou working frantically, wearing his own customized apron.

"I am the bone of my skillet?" Shinobu asked absentmindedly while reading the phrase written over his apron.

Shirou, who after being taken by surprise the previous day decided to keep his guard up at all times, wasn't startled by Shinobu presence and simply answered back at her.

"Yes. It was a gift for a friend in London. It's a sort of inside joke that's too complex to explain. Good morning Maehara-san."

"Ah. Good morning Emiya-san. Did you sleep well?"

"Pretty well actually. I've always loved the feeling from these old styled buildings. My own house has a style similar to this," Shirou explained.

"I see… Ano… Emiya-san… About yesterday…," Shinobu stuttered.

"I understand. I won't tell a soul, so don't worry about it."

Shinobu fell silent; surprised by the amount of understanding this man was capable of and simply stated her gratitude.

"Thank you. Uh. Would you like some help with that? I usually prepare the meals around here."

"That's so? I don't mind cooking. I did it most of my life and I actually enjoy it, though some help is always appreciated."

They began working together in silence. No much instruction was needed as they both were very familiar in that environment. Shinobu basked in the unusual but warm presence of her new manager. There was a calming aura about him that made her feel safe. She had felt it from the very first moment but still chalked it up to him rescuing her. Now that he was in the kitchen with her she understood that it was a natural quality of his. She enjoyed his presence and was secretly glad for the small miracle of their encounter and living arrangements.

"There! All done. Maehara-san would mind setting the table while I finish the last things? The others should be down shortly."

"Of course Emiya-san," she smiled at him.

She went in the other room and set the table for everyone and finished just in time for the other girls to arrive.

"Good morning Shinobu-san."

"Good morning Motoko-san, breakfast will be ready shortly."

Ten minutes later Naru and Kaolla joined the table, surprised by the amount and quality of the food waiting for them. They were even more surprised when Shirou walked out of the kitchen still in his apron and bringing two plates with him.

"Good morning everyone," he greeted.

"W-What is the meaning of this?" Motoko asked befuddled. "What were you doing in the kitchen?"

"Preparing the food?" He asked rhetorically in a _duh _kind of voice.

"Do you even know how to cook?" Naru asked disbelieving.

"Why shouldn't I?" Shirou asked. "I had to cook my own meals for most of the past eleven years. Scratch that. My foster father cooking skills were positively dreadful. I cooked my own food for as long as I can remember. I picked up some skill from then and now.""

"Thish ish bery gooh…" Kaolla confirmed with her mouth full.

Seeing that she wasn't about to die for poisoning they all joined her. Motoko nearly dropped her chopsticks when she put the first bite in her mouth and Naru froze on the spot at the same moment.

"You… prepared this?" She asked looking at Shinobu.

"I only helped a little," the shy-spoken girl confirmed.

"Hey, if this is the kind of stuff you can pull out Shirou-kun, I'm all the more glad you agreed to stay," Kitsune chirped.

"Well, yes. I must admit that you do have some talent in this," Motoko conceded begrudgingly.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he half laughed.

The meal was consumed in silence. It was painfully obvious that the newcomer's presence didn't put the girls in the mood to speak freely.

'_Well it can't be helped,'_ Shirou reasoned. _'Regardless of the circumstances I'm pretty much intruding in their daily life. It will take some time before they relax around me.'_

When everyone was finished Shinobu insisted to take care of the dishes by herself since Shirou had done all the cooking. He agreed since he had a lot more things to do. Starting with his daily workout.

* * *

><p>After Shirou went out Naru and Motoko joined Shinobu in the kitchen, where she was washing the dishes humming to herself.<p>

"Shinobu-san? Could we have a moment of your time?"

"Of course Motoko-sempai," she answered.

"Did that man… Emiya-san really cook everything?"

"Y-yes. When I found him in the kitchen he was halfway done. I just helped put the finishing touches."

"And… He didn't try anything while he was alone with you?" Naru asked.

"Uh? I don't understand. What would he….? Naru-sempai! Emiya-san hasn't done anything untoward."

"Are you sure? If he threatened you to keep quiet than we…"

"M-Motoko-san," Shinobu whimpered in fear the swordswoman expression. "W-Why are you so being hostile toward Emiya-san? He really didn't do anything to me."

The older girls looked at each other for a moment. Then Naru sighed in defeat.

"Sorry Shinobu-chan, we didn't mean to scare you. It's just… Never mind. We really don't know anything about him besides that he's related to Granny Hina and our first meeting wasn't really the best."

"B-But it wasn't his fault…"

"I.. We know. We are just being cautious, you know. Being Granny Hina's grandson doesn't automatically make him a good person, right. Just let us know if he does something improper and we'll deal with him, ok?"

"I.. I guess," Shinobu conceded.

"That is all we can ask. Thank you Shinobu-san," Motoko said politely before dragging the other girl away.

Mitsune watched the duo making a bee line for Motoko's room and decided to tag along for the fun. When the door was shut behind them they all sat in the middle of the room.

"So, what do you think about him Motoko-san?" Naru asked.

"I am not sure Naru-sempai. Shinobu could not lie if her life depended on it and I did not detect any lecherous intent coming from him. He might be biding his time of course or maybe he's distracted by other thoughts."

"I don't trust him," she huffed. "This whole situation is too suspicious. This supposed lost relative, Granny's Hina sudden trip around the world."

"Do you suspect him of foul play?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "Though it seems rather convenient for him. I mean Granny's Hina is quite rich."

"That is putting it mildly, Naru-chan," Mitsune confirmed.

"You believe that he might have tricked her into believing he is her grandson?"

"It could be possible. I mean this is a nice setup for him isn't it?" Maybe it's a con artist or something. Just because he looks like this Keitaro it doesn't really mean he is who he says right? "

"But, Naru-chan," Mistune interrupted. "Haruka practically recognized him on the spot. And what about the DNA test?"

"Resemblance is not enough," Motoko objected. "And the only proof we have of this supposed test is his word. There is no telling what trick he might have pulled to fake that. Naru-sempai is right. This looks too good for him to be true."

"So? What do suggest we do Motoko-san?" Naru asked.

"We keep our guard up around him and try to figure him out. And if he tries anything improper my sword will be more than happy to show him the error of his ways."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Mitsune agreed. She wasn't really interested if Shirou really was Granny's Hina relative or not. Either way she was going to get a lot of entertainment by watching the interaction between him and her fellow tenants and, if she played her cards right with him, even skin on a couple of rents.

* * *

><p>Forty-five minutes later Shirou returned from his jog which, in his case, meant that he had run for several kilometers at the top of his speed. He was drenched in sweat by the time he was back by the stair that lead to the Hinata-sou but despite that he looked unfazed.<p>

As he climbed up the steps a particular, well know sound reached his ears. The noise of a sword cutting through the air.

Instinct took over and every emotion abandoned his face. His steps became more cautious and his sense perked up to catch any hint of a potential threat.

Reaching the top of the stair he was welcomed by the sight of one Aoyama Motoko practicing her school techniques with a real life sword. Hers were the flowing movement of an experienced practitioner.

Smooth and precise, without a hint of self doubt.

In Shirou's trained eyes they were beautiful. And utterly wrong.

_- Trace On- _

Hitting the figurative trigger inside his mind Shirou accessed his abilities and began Tracing the sword Motoko had in her hands.

* * *

><p>Motoko was practicing her kata diligently like she did every day. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Her mind was clear, her hands steady. Nothing warned her of what was about to happen.<p>

She felt it all of a sudden. The sensation of being observed, watched. She had felt it plenty of times of time in the past but never with such intensity, never so…. invasive.

She spun around, sword at the ready to deal with whatever pervert was leering at her, only to freeze in surprise when her gaze met the figure of the new manager returning from what it looked like an extensive run. What surprised her though, wasn't the identity if the observer, nor his appearance, nor the lack of any sort of leer in his expression. It was the target of his examination.

He wasn't looking at her. His gaze was firmly locked on her sword, Shisui. Never she had seen someone looking at a sword like that. Not even the most fervent admirers she had met both inside and outside the school ever looked at a blade like he was doing in that moment.

The way he was looking at it felt both clinical and reverent at the same time. Never before she had seen something like that. Never before she had felt so utterly naked, like he could stare into her heart through her sword.

She felt the warmth spread through her face, warning her of the blush that was undoubtedly showing on her face. A sense of embarrassment flooded her mind, triggering the most obvious response. Rage.

As if sensing her intentions his gaze moved from the blade and locked on hers. She almost recoiled as if physically struck.

"That's a beautiful sword Aoyama-san."

His words dispelled the odd atmosphere and Motoko had to put an honest effort not to lose her balance for the sudden change of mood.

Unsettled by the circumstances she lost her hold on her growing rage and settled on simply answering him.

"It's a family heirloom, passed down by each generation to the following along with the skill to wield it properly."

"I see. It must have a long history then," he commented.

"It has been crafted over five centuries ago explicitly for my family to use."

"Then you should treasure it. Swords like that aren't easy to come by. What's its name?"

Motoko fell silent. They way he asked questions about her sword made her feel like he already knew the answer. "Shisui," she stated, and he simply nodded.

"Do you have an interest in swords Emiya-san?" Now it was her turn to ask questions she already knew the answer to. The man in front of her smiled warmly in response.

"You could say that I do," he confirmed. "I found them fascinating. Especially those with a long history behind them." They looked at each other for a long moment before he spoke again. "Take good care of your sword, Aoyama-san and it will take care of you in return."

He simply walked away, leaving behind Motoko to wonder what exactly had just happened.

* * *

><p>Without wasting time Shirou made his way toward his room. Shutting the door behind him he sighed deeply. He had done it again. Every time he came across a sword his instinct took over and he immediately Traced it.<p>

He closed his eyes and looked _–inside._

* * *

><p><em>The hill of swords opened up before him. In front of his feet, stabbed into the ground awaited his newest acquisition.<em>

_**Shisui.**_

_The sword was simple yet magnificent. It had been wielded by countless master swordsman and swordswoman throughout its life._

_It was beautiful.  
>And it was sad.<em>

_Its current master was ****** and her heart was ******_

* * *

><p>His gaze refocused on the outer world. This was a new experience to him. Since he discovered his <em>talent <em>with blades he could always tell everything about a sword from its composition to its history and even the techniques used with it but before he actually _Traced_ part of the owner.

It was merely a glimpse but Shirou could swear that this time around his Structural Grasping had reached new heights. Why and what did it meant? Was the blade special somehow?

Of course it was but that wasn't the point. There was some connection between the blade and the wielder? Probably. Was it enough to justify what he had felt? Not likely. What was different? What made Aoyama Motoko different from every other wielder he had met up to that point? Would he find the answer by whacking his brain over it? Probably not.

Eh. A smirk formed on his lips. For all of his lack of talent as a Magus it appeared that if the factors were right he could still lose himself in his subject of interest.

That would not do. While pure research often bore worthy fruits he still was a person who made the most out of direct action. Besides if he was going to be the manager of that place for the foreseeable future the chances to interact with the swordswoman were bound to happen.

Filing that line of thought for another time he went to get himself cleaned up and ready for his first day on the new job.

* * *

><p>"What's wrong Motoko-chan?" Mitsune asked to the obviously distressed swordswoman.<p>

"I am… not sure, Kitsune-san," she answered the older woman who was sitting in the lobby.

"Has it anything to do with our new manager?" She asked with a grin. "Hm? Maybe he has already played his hand with you? He works fast."

"What? No it's nothing of the sort. I mean yes, it is related to Emiya-san but I'm not exactly sure about what happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Like I said, I am not sure. There is something… unsettling about him. Mitsune-san, be careful around him. A man with those eyes is bound to be dangerous one way or another."

"Uh. Sure. Whatever you say Motoko-chan," the older woman agreed. She wasn't sure what could be particularly dangerous about that man beside him being… well, a man.

She watched the kendoka leave with her mind focused on the subject they just discussed about. She grinned. This guy was proving himself to be quite interesting and it was only the first day. One had to look forward to the coming entertainment.

And speaking of entertainment there was a horse race about to begin and she had a juicy tip about the winner. Time to have some fun.

* * *

><p>Shirou began his inspection starting with the unused facilities. To say that the place was big would be a gross understatement. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that a place like that was being used as a girls' dorm instead of an inn. The kind of money that could be milked out of a place like the Hinata-Inn was so small thing.<p>

Damn, the hot springs alone could gather a number of customers to make the owner rich.

As he went from room to room Shirou narrowed his eyes. Too many things didn't add up in this whole story, from his finding of his lost family to his present situation. The past five years of life had beaten the naivety out of him along with a few gallons of his blood.

He had a private firm going over the DNA exams, of course and apparently there was no chance of it being manipulated for the sake of bringing him there. No matter how it looked at it he was Granny's Hina grandson.

Still the situation was fishy. There were a whole lot of things that could be done to cheat a test like that but that would mean having access to _non-mundane _resources. Of course that meant that he had been specifically targeted but nobody knew of his _peculiar abilities_ besides a handful of tight lipped persons.

Now if only Rin decide to give him that call…

* * *

><p>In the lobby an old looking telephone rang loudly startling the resident chef that was passing in front of it in that very moment. She picked the receiver up and answered.<p>

"Hello? This is the Hinata-sou."

* * *

><p>Motoko had just left her room when the phone rang. She had no intention of eavesdropping but when she heard Shinobu mentioning the manager's name to whoever was to the other end of the line she couldn't help but place herself behind the closest corner and await while the younger girl went to fetch the man.<p>

No longer than a couple of minutes later the recipient of the call came rushing to the phone.

"Rin? Is that you?" he head him ask.

"…"

"I'm glad to hear you too. Everything all right over there?"

"… … … ….. … ….!"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I really didn't have any time to call. I know but…"

"… … … … …!"

"Ok, really . I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry. I swear I'll make it up to you next time you come back home."

"… …. …."

"It's your home as much as it's mine, Rin."

"…"

"You know the others are missing you. What makes you think different?"

"… … …. . …. … ….."

"What has that to do with anything? We made it clear that they could have joined us anytime."

"…. …. …. … … …. ….."

"I know that Sakura wouldn't…. Rin you are exaggerating. I care about her as much as I do…. Hey, that's not true. I'll go visit them as soon as I can."

"…"

"You are one to talk. When was the last time you visited?"

"… … … …_. ….."_

"Excuses, excuses. I know you care Rin. We all know it. You have no reason to act tough with me."

**"… …_.. …. ! ….. … …!"_**

"All right, calm down. I get it. Jeez. … Rin. You know what? You really are a big softie."

**"…_!... .!... ! ….!"_**

"The more you protest the less you are going to convince me of the contrary."

**"…_.. !"_**

"But you know that's part of the reason why I like you."

"… …_.. ?"_

"Of course. Hey, I miss you too."

"…"

"Sure. You know me."

"…"

"Hardy har har. Whatever. Though I'd really like to think the contrary you aren't one for social calls. Have you found what I've asked you about the Urashima? "

Motoko ears perked up. The seemingly meaningless conversation was finally turning interesting.

"… …_.. ….. …."_

"And? No information at all?"

"… … …_. …"_

"Yes, we already knew how wealthy they are. Anything else? Traces of tampering with the DNA test?"

Now that was something Motoko wanted to hear about.

"… …_. …."_

"So it's legitimate? I'm really an Urashima? I know. I'm relieved too."

Or maybe not as interesting as she believed it was. She had hoped to find confirmation to her suspicions but the half conversation she was listening to seemed to prove the contrary.

"…_. ….. ….."_

"Yeah. I know. Looks like my family situation is going to become even more intricate than it already was."

"… …_. …. ….. …. …"_

"No, I haven't said anything specific about it. … By the way did you know that the Inn I was supposed to stay at is not an Inn at all?"

"… …_."_

"Nope. It's an all girls dorm, and guess what? I'm the new manager."

"…_**.. ! …. … ….. !"**_

"How is that even my fault? I only found out yesterday. I'm not sure what's going on. Do me a favor and keep your ears open on that side for me would you. Thanks. I owe you a bunch."

"… …_.. … ….. … …"_

"If you want me to make it up to you like that it's hardly going to be a chore, you know?"

"…_. … …. … …."_

"Minx. I'll call you soon alright? Great. Bye Rin."

"…_."_

He hung up and walked away in the direction he came from.

"Now that was interesting," Mitsune said in Motoko's ear.

"DAAAH!" She shouted, nearly jumping out of her skin. "Mitsune-san! Don't do that! Since when have you been here?"

"Sneaked up on you, did I? Well I've been here as long as you did. I guess you were too taken by the conversation to pay me any notice. Tsk-tsk Motoko-chan. You should pay more attention to your surroundings."

"I hardly need you to tell me that. I do not have the habitude to pass out drunk in random places," she retorted.

"Uh. Seems to me that the new manager has got your panties in a twist. Say, do you think that he was talking to his girlfriend?"

"How would I know? It has to be someone close to him, that much is certain."

"Tsk. I can't believe he's already spoken for. Ah well. She's there and I'm here."

"Mitsune-san, I can't believe you are thinking like that," Motoko said in outrage.

"Why? He's Granny Hina's grandson, so he's loaded. And it's not bad on the eyes either."

"Wha..! I cannot believe you are thinking something like that. Just because he is…."

"Bah. You are too serious sometimes, Motoko-chan. Scratch that. You are too serious all the time. I was just joking. Jeez, you Aoyama are too stiff for your own good."

"But… Ah, never mind. I am not in the mood for your games."

"Oh? Too taken by the manager already? That's not good Motoko-chan," she teased with a grin.

"What? I am not… You are… Sigh. I'm not going to get out of this conversation on top, am I?" She asked resigned.

"Nope. Not a chance."

* * *

><p>Shirou conversation with Rin put him at ease. There was no connection between the Urashima and the Association, therefore the likelihood of a plot against him related to his abilities was basically nonexistent. That didn't meant there wasn't a second interest in his return among his relatives but at the very least he didn't have to worry about another Magus luring him into a trap.<p>

With that matter safely concluded the only thing he had to worry about was the coming inspection of the tenants' room.

Hopefully that wouldn't be too much of a problem.

Poor naïve fool didn't know half of what he was going to find out.

* * *

><p>Author Notes:<p>

First and foremost: WOW! I didn't expect this kind of reception for this story. I mean, 26 reviews for the first chapter not counting those that have been lost by deleting the story four times and several PMs. I don't know what to say…

….

Wait, actually I do. Keep 'em coming!

Now, let's answer a few things

It has been brought to my attention that Shirou, as a survivor of the HGW that has faced Servants and won, couldn't possibly be knocked out by Motoko's attack. I don't think so.

Shirou's strong. Heck he probably can't be killed short of beheading him but that doesn't mean he's invincible. Having withstood and survived a threat of a certain magnitude didn't make him immune to lesser things. I believe that a proper Mindset is part of one's strength. If he isn't in the right state of mind he can be _sucker punched_ with relative ease. This isn't Dragonball people. Just because Shirou has achieved a certain level of strength he isn't immune to everything below. His power is not yet over 9.000. It doesn't work like that. A mighty hero can still be killed by a stray bullet (so long as he isn't actively Reinforcing himself against it).

Secondly I'm going to upgrade the Shinmei-Ryu in this story. Shirou has been hit by a blast capable of cutting through rocks and just got knocked out for a few minutes? I'd say that's being pretty though.

That's all that comes to mind right now. This is probably going to be the last update for at least a couple of weeks. Gotta update my other stories. Oh, and if you want me to answer your review (not promising that I will) remember to turn on your PMs in your profile.

That being said I'm off.

See ya soon people.


	3. Getting acquainted

**Chapter 3 – Getting acquainted (published: 05.18.2012 – Beta: none)**

* * *

><p>Shirou clutched his head in pain as he writhed on the floor of his room. He was seriously reconsidering his choice to take up that job. Not even twenty-four hours from his arrival and he had already been beaten twice.<p>

Seriously, how was that supposed to be his fault? He had just finished checking the building for eventual repairs that needed to be done when he noticed an hole in the ceiling of his room. Of course he had to check it out to assess the damage, but when he moved the surprisingly light cover that separated his room from the one above he found himself staring into a panty clad Narusegawa Naru.

Granted, he might have been staring for a moment too long, but he was seriously surprised. She didn't have to stomp on his head (and give him an even better look of her body in the process).

Being nearly immortal was all good and fine but Excalibur's scabbard didn't take away one ounce of pain. He honestly felt like a fool. Give him any sort of near death situation and he could react with the speed of light and with the strength of steel. Put him in front of a woman showing too much skin and he would freeze on the spot.

No amount of experience with the fairer sex seemed to get him used to those kind of situation.

What was wrong with that woman anyway? She treated him like he was just waiting for the chance to jump on her, but she didn't tell him there was a hole in his ceiling that connected their rooms when he clearly stated that he was going to inspect the building?

Groaning he pulled himself up, shaking his head to get rid of the cobwebs. The entire situation didn't make any sense, from his finding his family to the current living arrangements. It was entirely too fishy for his liking but he had no idea of what was the purpose behind the whole charade.

Any ties to the Association had been ruled out and outside of that circle very few knew about him being a Magus. The DNA test was sound and had been check by different independent labs. Even though he still found it hard to believe he really was an Urashima.

What didn't convince him was how he found out. Running into his grandmother at the airport was already an incredible coincidence and being recognized on the spot even more so. Sure, from the pictures she showed him later he looked a lot like his mother but the stubbornness of the old woman was out of the world. A casual resemblance made much more sense, but Granny Hina didn't want to hear a thing about it.

She was certain Shirou was her grandson. Too certain if you'd asked him. In fact he was fairly sure the entire encounter had been a set up and that could only mean that the old woman knew before hand who he was and where to find him. How much else did she know?

There was obviously something going on and he was a part of it and not knowing what it was didn't sit well with him.

t might have been a trap of some sort, but if someone was plotting against him he preferred to face it head on instead of waiting to be stabbed in the back, therefore he accepted Granny Hina's invitation to find out exactly what was going on and move the target of a potential threat away from his family back in Fuyuki.

The girls weren't happy about it, but ultimately agreed to let him go even though they forced him to bring some back up . _She_ would stay at another place in Hinata city and keep an eye on things from afar until Shirou deemed it safe for her to move closer or return to Fuyuki. She could pass unobserved when she wanted to. Or catch everyone's attention when she didn't.

Well if everything went according to plans he could visit her tonight and let her know the situation. It was also a chance to see if somebody form the inn would follow him.

His musing where interrupted when he heard heavy footsteps coming in his direction and, if he had to bet on it, he was about to face an enraged swordswoman.

"Emiya! Show yourself, you treacherous pervert," she demanded loudly. Sighing Shirou shook his head.

"Right, let's get this mess sorted out," he said to himself.

He stepped out of the room just in time to see Motoko appearing from the stairs with Naru a few steps behind her. The look in her eyes told volumes of their intentions.

"There you are, you vile man. How dare you lay your eyes on Naru-senpai? You will pay for your transgression," she declared as she approached, lifting her wooden sword over her head for a downward strike. However, when her hands swung down, there was no trace of her weapon in her grasp.

A fraction of second before her strike Shirou stepped forward, snatching the bokuto form her hand and moving past her. Motoko realized what happened in half a second and spun around to give a piece of her mind to the perverted thief. Behind her, Shirou made the same motion in her direction, rapidly spinning the wooden sword with his fingers so that he was holding it by the hilt once his body completed the half-turn.

When both were facing each other again, Motoko found herself staring from very close to the tip of her own weapon, so close that she had to nearly cross her eyes to look at it.

"That's quite enough," Shirou declared in a no nonsense tone. "We will discuss what happened like civilized persons. Is that feasible Aoyama-san?"

There was no disrespect in his voice, but no room for arguments either. The sheer surprise of being disarmed by a man and then held at sword point was enough to startle Motoko out of her rage and nod dumbly at his request.

Naru on the other hand was still on the path of war. Her fist was balled and ready to strike when Shirou turned his head in her direction. His golden eyes locked on hers and she froze on the spot with her fist cocked back.

There was no hostility in his gaze but she could that if she ended her motion there would have been consequences she wouldn't like.

"Narusegawa-san," he spoke in a deadly serious tone that made Naru nearly jump away. "My apologies," he said bowing down surprising both women. "It wasn't my intention to peek on you. I was simply checking the building when I noticed the hole in the roof of my room. I wasn't aware it was connected to your room nor I knew you were changing."

"Ah… Uhm," she stuttered at loss for words. The man that held Motoko as sword point with her own weapon was now sincerely apologizing to her. Thinking about it, she was so used to the hole being there that she forgot to mention it to him. In all honesty she couldn't say it was entirely his fault if something like that happened. She clutched her still balled fist to her chest and looked away in shame. She had obviously overreacted.

"No, it's my fault for not telling you about it, Emiya-san. I'm sorry for hitting you," she said bowing in return.

"Naru-senpaI?" Motoko asked, dumfounded by the older girl reaction. She didn't expect Naru to apologize to the pervert. Had she misread the situation?

"It's all right," he answered back. "There's no real harm done. Now , is there any other potentially embarrassing hole I should know about?"

"N-no. Not that I know about anyway."

"Well, that's good," he said with a smile that held no hint of his previous cold composure. "Do me a favor and pass the word to the other tenants to let me know of such things before deciding to undress. I would rather avoid any other incidents if I can."

"Yes. That would be better. Well.. .Then... I should go."

"Naru-senpai, wait a moment," she said watching the brunette leave for her room. Seeing that she wasn't about to stop she turned to Shirou. "May I have my bokuto back now, Emiya-san?"

Shirou handed back the wooden sword without so much as a words. The raven haired woman retrieved it and then followed after Naru without so much as a by your leave.

"Well, that went well," he said to himself when Motoko disappeared upstairs.

"It actually did," a female voice said from behind him. Shirou turned around and found Haruka looking at him. "That was impressive Shirou. I was expecting you to go flying through the wall or something. I've never seen anyone dealing with those two like you did and by the look of their faces neither did they. How did you manage to disarm Motoko like that?"

"You are giving me too much credit," he answered. "It was just a combination of speed, self-confidence and Aoyama-san underestimating me. If something like that happens again I don't think I can pull the same trick."

"You say that like it was easy," Haruka said with a cocked eyebrow. "Motoko's a very skilled swordswoman from a school in Kyoto. She has been holding a sword before she knew how to walk."

It was Shirou's turn to shrug. "Time doesn't necessarily equals to experience and even the most skilled warrior can be brought down easily if taken by surprise."

"Spoken out of experience?"

"You could say that," he answered with a smirk, thinking about a certain arrogant King defeated by a lowly _Faker_.

"You aren't going to elaborate on that, are you? You are a strange man, Shirou."

"Strange? How am I strange?"

"You've been very vague about yourself when we spoke last night. You didn't tell me anything about your foster family, nor much of what you did abroad."

"Forgive the bluntness Haruka-san, but despite being related I know nothing of you. You seem a nice person for what I can tell so far, but I'm not comfortable in sharing my life with someone I've just met. Besides you didn't ask any specific question. There's just so much I can tell in a single evening. Does that makes me strange?"

Haruka looked at him with an appraising gaze. "No. By itself it probably wouldn't."

" I sense a _but_ coming," he said ironically.

"But there something that makes me believe there's more about you than meets the eye. Believe it or not I've met all sort of folks when I was younger, strange people and dangerous people too. You remind me of them."

"Which ones? The strange ones or the dangerous ones?"

"Both, Shirou-kun," she replied in a flat tone.

Shirou had to give the woman credit were it was due. She was clearly happy to find his lost nephew but she was fully aware that the man in front of her was a stranger despite the bond of blood. She wasn't about to cut him any slack. In all honesty that was the first thing that made sense in the entire situation.

"You are pretty insightful. I like that."

"You like that I think you're dangerous?"

"Yes. Doesn't that make sense? We are strangers Haruka-san, and despite being related by blood we don't really know each other. If you were to trust me blindly I would seriously be worried about your sanity. So far your mistrust is the only thing that makes any sense. Look at it from my point of view. For fifteen years I believed that I had no living relatives and the suddenly my family pops out of nowhere after a one-in-million casual encounter. Then I'm suddenly invited to stay at the family's inn only to find out it's a all-girls dormitory and I'm more or less forced to be the new manager. You're being careful? I say great. Finally someone with common sense. "

Haruka had to chuckle at his explanation. Finding out that Keitaro was alive was a surreal experience for her. She could only imagine how he could feel about it. The old bat devious plot to make him the manager certainly didn't help to put him at ease. All considered he was handling things incredibly well.

"Yes, I suppose I can't deny that. You seem a decent guy Shirou, but like you just said we don't really know each other. The girls here on the other hand are like family to me. If you were to purposely harm them I'd have to kick your ass, niece or not."

"Make sure you that you do, Haruka-san. I'm a bit thick headed when it comes to women and some things won't sink into my brain until they're bashed right in."

"Spoken out of experience?" She asked again.

"You could say that," he answered like before but with a lot less amusement in his voice. In fact he seemed to be recalling many of such painful experiences.

"Don't sound so depressed. Most men don't even notice their own thickness. You are already one step above the rest. Pleasantries aside, I came to help with your inspection of the rooms. I thought that having me with you would put both sides at ease."

"That's really thoughtful, Haruka-san. I appreciate it."

"Well then, shall we get started?"

* * *

><p>While Haruka and Shirou were talking, Motoko followed Naru to her room. The sudden change of behavior worried the younger girl.<p>

"Naru-senpai. What happened? Why did you apologize to that man? He looked at you while you were changing. Surely you cannot let that slide."

"Motoko-san, calm down. I'm partly responsible for that."

"Certainly you don't believe it was an accident?"

"It probably was," Naru admitted. "Honestly, it was my fault not telling him about the hole. Besides even if it was his intention to peek on me I've already hit him for that. He apologized and I couldn't do any less. What about you though? He disarmed you easily."

"I… He took me by surprise. I did not expect him to react like that. I underestimated him a little. It won't happen twice."

"So we both misjudged him a little. Let's leave it at that."

"… Fine. I concede that my initial evaluation of him was slightly off the mark, but that doesn't mean I'm going to trust him."

"Of course not. Men can never be trusted," Naru said with a tone of rage mixed to sadness. Motoko nodded as if that statement was the most obvious thing in the world.

* * *

><p>Shinobu was the first tenant whose room was inspected. It was the first time a man entered her room and she was seriously embarrassed by it. Not that she had any reason to. Her room was tidy and well kept. A few minor repairs were needed since the building was very old but nothing that could be blamed on the girl.<p>

"It says here that you pay part of your rent by working for the inn. What do you do exactly?" Shirou asked.

"Ano… I'm in charge of the laundry… and the cooking and the cleaning."

"Which is basically every chore around here short of doing repairs. Was all of this in your original contract?"

"N-No, I don't think so," she admitted.

"So, how comes you are doing all the work? The other tenants don't help you at all?"

"Ano… I don't mind doing it. I-I'm good at house chores so…"

Shirou looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. "If you say so, Maehara-san I'm not going to press the issue, but from now on I'm going to do part of the work around here. Is that alright with you?"

"Sure, Emiya-san."

"Good. Is there any repair there's need to be done that you know about?"

"Uhm. The only thing I can think about is the heater. It's rather old and it often stops working in the winter so it gets really cold."

"Very well. I'll look into it. Thank you for your time."

* * *

><p>"I'd have expected you to tell her she shouldn't do the other girls share of the work," Haruka commented when the door to Shinobu's room was closed behind her.<p>

"It's not my place to tell her what she should or shouldn't do. Besides, it would be hypocritical for someone dubbed 'Fake Janitor' throughout high school to tell someone else to stick to their share of work."

"F-fake janitor?" Haruka sputtered clearly trying not to laugh.

"Laugh it up if you want. I never disliked the title even if someone mocked me for it. There's nothing wrong with wanting to help out."

"True," she admitted. "But people are bound to take advantage of you and take you for granted if you do it too much."

"And that's why we are going to let the other tenants know how displeased we are with the current state of things. Who's next by the way."

"Suu Kaolla, the foreign girl. Shirou, let me give you a word of warning about her. Don't be surprised about what you are going to find in her room. It's all in her contract."

"Hm? What is she keeping in her room that can surprise me?"

"Oh, you'll see."

* * *

><p>"What the hell?" Shirou asked as he looked inside Kaolla's <em>room<em>. "What's a jungle doing in here? How does she fit all of this stuff in this small space?"

"Don't ask me," Haruka said. "I never understood the kid but she's some kind of crazy genius for what I know . Her room décor is the least of her quirks. Oi, Kaolla! Are you in here?"

"Over here!" A voice shouted from a point that seemed too far away to be still inside the room. The duo made their way through the foliage, doing their best to ignore the sounds that they sincerely hoped were just recordings and not actual living beasts.

They found the dark skinned girl laying lazily on a hammock with a tablet in her hands. She was wearing just a sleeveless shirt which showed a good amount of her cleavage and a pair of really short shorts.

"Hellos," she greeted in her strange way of speaking. "Have you come to play with Kaolla?"

"Erm…," Shirou stuttered caught between being embarrassed by her attire and being surprised by the state of her room. "Maybe some other time. We are here to check the room today, though at this point it would be more an exploration than an inspection. Say, doesn't this room look bigger from the inside than from the outside? How did you do it?"

"I-eh," she giggled. "That's Kaolla's secret. If you really want to know you have to play with her."

"I'll think about it," he finally settled on after considering her proposal for a moment. Somehow his instinct screamed at him not to get involved in whatever game she had in mind.

"Aw. You are no fun."

"Sorry about that. Give me a few days to get settled and I'll reconsider you offer. Now, is there any repairs in need to be done?"

"No-no," she sing-sang ."Kaolla took care of everything when she moved in. Can't afford any leaks from the lab."

"Lab?" Shirou asked warily. "What lab?"

"Like I said, Kaolla here is a genius. She has her own laboratory… somewhere in here," Haruka explained while looking around the place.

"I see," Shirou answered, but without really understanding anything. The sheer impossibility of the situation would normally make him believe he had waltzed in the workshop of a crazy Magus. Only the lack of any Bounded Field convinced him that he hadn't. If the girl was using some sort of space-distortion it had to be completely technologic based, which was all the more mind boggling for the red haired Magus. What kind of futuristic technology and energy source was required to pull that out?

"Well, if any problem comes to mind make sure to let me know Suu-san," he conclude.

"Okie-dokie," she agreed cheerfully.

* * *

><p>"You took that rather well," Haruka commented after leaving the impossibly large room. "The first time I've been in there I thought I was hallucinating."<p>

"I've seen stranger things," Shirou admitted. "Though that still ranks pretty high on my list."

"Stranger than that? I'm not sure I'd want to know about them."

"No. No you definitely wouldn't," Shirou agreed. "Who's next on the list?"

"Konno Mitsune, the local fox-lady."

"Fox-lady?" Shirou echoed. "Is that about her vulpine expression?"

"Partly," Haruka confirmed. "But they call her Kitsune mostly because of her behavior. She's a sly woman that likes to seduce men and blackmail or embarrass them for fun. She's usually late with the rent because she burns all of her money on sake and horse races. As you are now the manager you can be sure she will try to exploit you at any given chance."

"Say, Haruka-san," Shirou began. "Is it just me or every tenants we visit is more issues than the previous one?"

"Erm…. As a matter of fact…," Haruka sweat dropped.

"Nevermind. Let's just get it done and out of the way."

* * *

><p>Haruka's description of Mitsune was accurate. Her room looked hastily cleaned and the doors of the wall closets were suspiciously bulging outwards.<p>

Kitsune was wearing a shirt more revealing than Kaolla's, partly thanks to her more generous bust. She looked disappointed by Haruka's presence while Shirou was all the more glad for it. Haruka had just thrown a wrench in her plans by simply being there.

"Konno-san," Shirou began, " it says here that you are usually late with your rent. While I don't mind postponing the payment from time to time you must also keep in mind that your rent goes directly in the funds to keep this place running," Shirou explained. "Please try to be on time from now on."

"Ah. I'll try my best," she conceded. She had no intention of changing her habits and seducing the new manager was her foolproof plan to avoid doing that. Haruka intervention merely postponed wouldn't be around every minute of every day, after all.

"I'm counting on that," Shirou said firmly. "Furthermore, while it's not my place to judge other people hobbies please keep the sake within your room. There's a couple of underage girls living here."

"Erm… It was never a problem before," she objected weakly. The new manager was proving himself to be too much of an upstanding guy for her liking.

"It's a problem _now_, Konno-san," Shirou replied mercilessly. He didn't like being particularly harsh with her but he preferred to be considered a little strict rather than present himself as a potential prey for the stunning woman that made a living out of seducing men.

"Understood, Shirou-kun," she replied with a coy smile and amicable voice in an attempt to salvage her image in the eyes of the man in front of her. "I'll keep the sake in here."

"Thank you. With that out of the way, is there anything that needs repairs in here?"

"Actually there is," she beamed, glad for the change of topic. "The window doesn't close all that well and it's really a pain in the winter."

"Understood. I'll make sure to have it fixed in a few days. Anything else?"

"No. Everything just fine."

"Good. Then our business here is finished. Thank you for your time Konno-san."

"Please, Shirou-kun. Call me Kitsune like everybody else."

"I'll think about it, Konno-san."

* * *

><p>"Could she be any more obvious?" Shirou asked to more to himself than to Haruka beside him.<p>

"You noticed that?"

"Please, Haruka-san. I may be a little on the thick side I'm not stupid."

"Indeed. And keep in mind that you aren't out of the woods with her yet. Mitsune might be a lazy bum, but she's persistent and takes great pride in her seduction skills. The more you avoid her the more she will come after you."

"Joy. Just what I needed to spice up my absolutely boring and uneventful life."

"Eh, you might have pissed off somebody important up there and this is payback."

'_Thinking about it, that's exactly the kind of thing that bastard of a Counter Guardian would do if given the chance,'_ Shirou thought to himself without an inkling of doubt. After all, who beside Emiya could know what EMIYA would do?

"Let's just forget about it for now. Who's next?"

"Aoyama Motoko, heir to the Shinmei-Ryu school of kendo, whose skill with a blade you already experienced firsthand. Remember?"

"Yeah. Who could forget something like that?"

"It's more like who'd get the chance to live to forget. I was honestly surprised to know you've been on the receiving end of one of her techniques and got away without a scratch. You've been very lucky."

'_My concept of luck doesn't involve being hit by a blast of concentrated ki,' _Shirou retorted silently in his mind. "I suppose you're right," he preferred to say, not being one to whine about past incidents and misfortunes.

"I'm sure you noticed it already, but she has a very low opinion of men in general. I advise you remain on your best behavior at all time in her presence."

"Haven't I been on my best behavior the whole time, Haruka-san?"

"Can't argue with that," she nodded. "Well then, let's get this over with."

* * *

><p>"…"<p>

"…"

"…"

After greeting each other when they entered Motoko's room the trio sat in uncomfortable silence around the small table. Motoko's room was decorated like a samurai's in times of war and just as welcoming. All manners of swords and armors were set against the walls. There wasn't a single trace of a modern item in sight. It was like they'd travelled back in time a couple of centuries.

"So," Shirou began breaking the silence. "Is there anything I should know about?"

"No. The condition of my room is satisfactory."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Anything beside that?"

"If you have done your inspection as you were supposed to there is no need for me to point out anything."

"Right," Shirou agreed sourly. "Then I might as well point a few things out myself. I understand that Maehara-san has been taking care of every single chore inside the dorm by herself, is this correct, Motoko-san?"

"It is correct. Maehara-san graciously took that duty upon herself."

"Has anyone ever offered to help her in any way?"

"I…," Motoko paused for a moment trying to recall such an event. "Not that I can think about," she admitted with a tinge of shame in her voice.

"I thought so. I know that Maehara-san is willing to take care of all of the chores around here, but I'm afraid that with her reserved character she wouldn't be able to refrain from doing them even if she didn't feel like it."

"Have you discussed this with the other girls as well?"

"You are the first one," Shirou admitted. "I would have raised the topic with Konno-san as well ,but I would rather wait until she takes responsibility for herself before expecting more. That leaves you and Narusegawa-san as the eldest tenants and I can tell that Maehara-san looks up to you both. As her Senpai and fellow tenants, please give her some support."

"I will discuss it with Maehara-san herself," Motoko agreed.

"It's all I ask. Thank you for your time, Aoyama-san."

* * *

><p>"That went well," Haruka said as they left Motoko's room.<p>

"Certainly better than our first encounter," Shirou agreed. "Though I would have been hard-pressed in doing worse."

"Don't be so sure about that. I don't mean this as an insult, but Motoko's sword is faster than her brain sometimes. If she takes offense for something she will more likely come looking for blood rather than an apology. Still, you seem to handle things pretty well. I suppose that living with many women before has given you some experience."

"You could say that," Shirou confirmed. "Here we are Narusegawa-san's room."

* * *

><p>For a moment Shirou thought Naru had a guest in her room. The girl in front of him didn't look anything like the girl who first met upon his arrival at the dorm. Thick glasses, braided hair and clothes that would look good on the ultimate of nerds.<p>

"N-Narusegawa-san?" He asked uncertainly.

"Who else could I be?"

"My apologies. Your appearance is so different from before that I wasn't sure it was really you."

"This is how I dress when I study. It's comfortable and the glasses help me when I read for extended periods of time. Is there something wrong with it?"

"No, no. Not at all. Just… nevermind. Let's go back to the reason of our visit. I was wondering if there was something you needed me to do beside closing the hole in the floor. I checked the entire main building and there's enough to do to keep me busy for weeks. Is there anything you think takes priority."

"The stairs to the deck look like they're going to give in next time someone steps on them. If you can repair them first we won't have to go there from the adjacent roofs anymore."

"I see," Shirou nodded and scribbled down on a notebook. " I'll put that on top of my list. Anything else?"

"Nothing comes to mind."

"Okay. On another note, I'll say to you the same thing I said to Aoyama-san earlier. Maehara-san has been taking care of all the chores until today. From now on I'll handle my own share of the work but I'm expecting that everyone takes care of their own laundry or at the very least set up proper shifts."

"We never asked Shinobu to do our things for us."

"But you never said her not to either. I honestly appreciate and share Maehara-san's disposition to help, but that's not an excuse to skim on your responsibilities and dump them on your kohai."

"…," Naru muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"I said I understand. I'll try to organize my time with Shinobu to divide the chores. Is that all right."

"Absolutely. Thank you for your time, Narusegawa-san."

* * *

><p>When the last door slid close Shirou released a sigh he didn't know he was holding. For the entire time he was there Naru was on the defensive. He expected her to lash out at him verbally, but she kept her cool even if there was an unpleasant tension in the air.<p>

She didn't trust him and she made it clear. It didn't look personal but was still there.

"You ok, Shirou?"

"Yeah Haruka-san. I just have a lot to think about."

"Do you think you're going to have trouble with the girls?"

"I'm certain of it. There's bound to be some attrition while we adjust to each other. Hopefully I'll be able to handle it."

"I'm sure that you will. You seem mature and responsible enough to manage the situation. Beside if you need anything you only have to ask. I'll be glad to help."

"Thank you, Haruka-san."

"Bah," she scoffed. "Drop the suffix. It's annoying. You're my nephew and this is your home."

"Should I call you aunt then?"

"Don't push your luck, Shirou. I might not look like much, but I can kick your ass any day of the week."

Shirou chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

><p>That evening the girls gathered in the attic to discuss the new manager. They approached Shinobu about the chores issue and with a little push she admitted that taking care of everything by herself was a tad difficult sometimes. In the end she decided to keep cooking for everyone, a task that she would share with the new manager, while they would take turns doing the laundry. Cleaning their rooms was everyone individual task d course, while the manager would take care of all the common areas.<p>

It was fairly reasonable and they agreed that it was how it should have been in the first place.

"So? What do you think about him?"

It was Mitsune to ask the question first.

"H-He's nice," Shinobu said. "He's really helpful and well mannered."

"He didn't play with Kaolla," said girl pouted.

"He managed to steal my sword mid-swing," Motoko admitted begrudgingly. "He has an eye for sword and he's confident and fast enough. He might have some martial training so he can be at least a little dangerous if he want to be. What do you think, Naru-senpai."

"I'll refrain from passing any judgment for now. I don't trust him, but he seems to take his job seriously. If he doesn't screw up and keeps his hands and eyes to himself he can stay."

Mitsune didn't voice her intention of seducing him. After all, if she wanted to blackmail Shirou it was better if nobody knew.

They retuned down and went to their rooms just in time to catch Shirou leaving the building,.

"I have to take care of some things in town," he said while he put on his shoes. "I'll be back later tonight."

Kitsune watched him leave until he was out of earshot. "What could he have to do this late? All the shops are closed except the Seven-Eleven. He didn't sound like he was going to shop for groceries."

"I do not know," Motoko said. "Maybe he knows someone that lives here."

"Maybe," Mitsune conceded, the gears in her head were already forming a plan. "I'm going out for a walk."

"You are you going to follow him," Motoko observed quietly.

"Yep. Wanna come too?"

"I have no interest in what he does outside of the dorm, but in the off chance that you will follow him in some dangerous place I will come with you."

"Great. Let's go!"

* * *

><p>They followed him at a relatively safe distance. The air was warm enough already and many people were taking strolls or simply hanging out. It helped the two girl go unnoticed to Shirou even thought they had to fend off a few suitors.<p>

At one point they saw Shirou duck into a small alley and out of their sight. They promptly went after him only to find the narrow street completely empty. They rushed to the end and into the wider road on the other side but found no trace of Shirou in the small crowd.

"Aw," Kitsune pouted. "We lost him."

"So it seems. Let us go back to the dorm. There is no use to remain here any longer."

"All right," she conceded. "But this is not over. I'll be waiting for him when he'll get back."

"Mitsune-senpai" Motoko sighed, "don't you have anything better to do with your time?"

"Nope!"

"That is what I thought."

They turned back and returned from whence they came. In the middle of the alley Motoko stopped and looked around, one hand on the blade that she always kept at her side.

"What's wrong Motoko?"

"I… It's nothing. For a moment I had the impression of being watched."

"Ah! You're just too tense. You have to relax. Relax."

"Maybe you are right. I think I will be taking a nice long bath once we are back."

"I'll come too," Kitsune chided. "And I'll bring sake."

"Were you not forbidden to take your liquor out of your room?"

"Yeas, but I don't expect Emiya-kun to come and scold me in the spring."

"I certainly hope for his health that he will not even consider such a thing."

They finally reached the main road again, but Motoko couldn't shake the feeling of being watched until they turned the corner.

* * *

><p>Several floors above, Shirou looked down at his stalkers through narrowed eyes. Didn't those people know the meaning of privacy? What right did they have to follow him? It was extremely annoying. Those girls seemed to believe they were entitled to watch over him and judge his actions.<p>

Sighing, he quelled his annoyance and jumped down the roof, landing in a crouch without a noise. Sending one last glance to where the girls disappeared he turned around and continued on his way.

He had a friend to meet.

* * *

><p>Author Notes:<p>

So I'm back to this story after a long pause. Regular updates is still something I wouldn't hold my breath for but feel free to suffocate at your leisure.

I was extremely surprised by the reception this story had. Over one hundred reviews for a couple of chapters isn't half bad. There was also a lot of discussions going on in the comments that would be better to move to an appropriate location. I'm starting up a forum for my fics so feel free to ask your questions there.

Also, this story doesn't involve Negima for the simple reason that in that series Magic had either reached monstrous level or was treated as a ridiculous plot device. I like neither so I won't use them. I might borrow some character name from time to time but they will have no relation to the original story. Consider it a tribute to the author (and a way for me to have names without having to come up with them).

If anyone is willing to take up the job of Beta just PM me, but don't expect it to make updates any faster.

Well that's it for now.

Bye.


	4. Altered Scenario

**Chapter 4: Altered Scenario (published 05.22.2012 – beta: none)**

* * *

><p>The hills surrounding the town of Hinata were renowned for their hot springs and as such they were a heavily frequented touristic location. The paths and trails were illuminated even at night and relatively sure to walk at every hour, but there were also so many of them that chances of running into someone at that hour were pretty slim.<p>

He didn't need to go that far, but he preferred to be sure no one was following him anymore. The girls from the Hinata-sou had apparently trailed him out of personal interest but they could have been used as a decoy.

Half an hour of walking through deserted streets reassured him that nobody was out to get him.

After a few twist and turns he reached a small wooden patio built on the side of the hill and overlooking the entire town.

Shirou could understand why Hinata city was so appreciated by the hot springs lovers. It was a beautiful location, caught in between the past and the present. It was a relatively big town yet not cut away from the wonders of nature. Regardless of his reasons to be there, Shirou was glad to have visited such a place.

He was brought out of his musing by a presence getting closer at a leisurely slow pace. He would have turned around, but by the look of things it would have been a pointless effort. There was nothing to see. There was nothing that could be seen.

"Beautiful sight, isn't it?" He asked aloud once the invisible presence was right beside him. "I wish that Sakura and the others could see it too."

A mystical sound was heard and a figure clad in revealing and tight fitting clothes appeared from thin air.

The light of the moon cast over her revealed an ethereal beauty that Shirou could never grew accustomed to. Even after years of knowing her it was still difficult for him to ignore her astonishing appearance and focus on her eyes. It didn't help the fact that when she wore her most revealing clothes her square shaped pupils were hidden from sight.

The blindfolded woman was a sight that overshadowed the beauty of the nature around her.

"I think she would love it too," the soft spoken Servant said. He composed and reserved demeanor was in deep contrast with her revealing outfit. Shirou was more than glad to have something to look at that wasn't in her direction. Even though she was blindfolded she could always tell when his eyes strayed.

She never openly pointed it out, but she definitely knew. He was sure about it, because every time his gaze lingered were it shouldn't have she made a point of twisting her body to show just a little tidbit more, enough to make him conscious about it and turn his head away in embarrassment.

He was also fairly sure that she was getting her fun out of it.

What was even more difficult to believe was his inability to get in such a situation without blushing or stuttering. He had lived under the same roof as her for an entire year and several months in the following four years. He had seen much more than what she revealed with her battle outfit but was still affected like that. He really was a sucker for women beauty.

"Thanks for coming, Rider," he finally said after a long moment of pause. "And sorry for bothering you with this. I know you wouldn't leave Sakura's side if you could help it."

"My loyalty to Sakura is paramount," she confirmed, "but if you think that helping you is a chore for me, than you're dumber than I gave you credit for. Besides, keeping you safe is what Sakura asked me to do."

"You make it sound like I need a minder all the time," Shirou chuckled.

"Yes. That is exactly what I mean," Rider confirmed without the slightest tinge of humor in her voice.

"Urgh," Shirou groaned. "I thought that I became a little more capable in the past few years."

"You have. You're leaps and bound stronger than you were back then, but you still have the propensity to jump in a situation head first without a care for your own life when someone else's is at risk, and while we consider it your most endearing trait, it is also the source of our worries.

"Ergh," he mumbled not having a single word to counter her argument. "Sorry to bother you."

"it's not a bother," she repeated. "but please do remember that there are people that care and worry about you."

"Yeah. Thanks for reminding me, Rider," he said honestly. Sometimes when you worried about everyone you tended to forget about those closer to you.

"My pleasure. So, how was your first day as a manager?"

"More difficult that I thought it would be," he admitted. "But then again, I'm probably too used to be trusted by the women I know, so I still have to get the gist of it."

"Did you find something strange? Odd behaviors?"

"Eh. They might be one of the strangest bunch of people I ever met," he chuckled. Coming from someone who dealt with Magi on a regular basis, it was quite a statement. "But not in the way we usually use for the term. They tend to become a little violent when I get in their personal space, but since I'm basically intruding in their daily life I can't actually complain. I'm a little annoyed by the fact that they don't give me nearly the same amount of privacy they demand from me, but that's something I intend to rectify as soon as possible."

"Oh my," Rider chuckled. "How unusual to see you use the iron fist. You're usually so compliant around women."

"That's because you're normally reasonable enough to sit and listen before trying to kick me into oblivion. I can't afford the same luxury here. Not with one of the tenants being an adept to ki based attacks."

"Ki-based?" Rider asked pensively with a hand on her chin. "That is rather unusual in this time and age. Does she have a connection with the Clock Tower?"

"I'm looking into it, but I don't think so. According to Haruka she's from an ancient family that passed the technique generation to generation. They might be a little more aware of the mystical side of the world, but I don't think they qualify as Magi or have a relation with any."

"… Who's Haruka?"

"My aunt. I found out about her only yesterday. Apparently I have a younger adoptive sister too, although she's abroad now."

"A… sister? Oh."

"What? I don't like how you said that. What's the matter?"

"Nothing, nothing at all. I was just imaging Illya's reaction at this news."

"Oh," Shirou said in acknowledgement. "OH!"

"Yes, my thought exactly. I'm afraid that she'll come claiming he Onii-chan before this new challenger gets a chance to."

"No. No-no-no," Shirou shook his head frantically. "You can't tell her. She mustn't know. She'll come here and blow the entire inn to Kingdom come."

"Shirou," Rider sweatdropped, "aren't you exaggerating a little?"

"Am I? Rider, just how many Einzbern still walk the earth after she went back to the castle? "

"…," she replied stoically.

"Yeah. She has taken a little too much after Berserker. She can't deal with a situation without extreme measures. Either she'd love my long lost sister like her own sibling or she'll wage war on her. How do you think it would end if the latter came to pass?"

"A bloodbath," Rider whispered softly. There was a tinge of fear in her voice that only those who had witnessed the snow haired girl's wrath could understand. "I will keep this news to myself then."

"Thanks. On another note, have you found anything interesting?"

"I did," she answered shaking off the chill brought up by Illya's eventual fury. "I'm surprised you haven't noticed it yourself."

"Hm? You mean the leyline? How could I not notice it? This city is saturated with Mana. It isn't surprising considering the number of springs around here. It's a little wild compared to Fuyuki and definitely not as strong but it's still preponderant."

"Yes, that is certainly true but I was referring to its source. The leyline reaches the surface exactly under your inn."

"Say what?"

"Furthermore there is a complex system of caves flooded under it. I couldn't explore them fully as the flow of raw Mana is too strong for me to navigate through, even in spirit from, but I can't tell that they are untouched."

"Whew. For a moment I thought…"

"That it was like the Ryuudo Temple? No. While I'm not Caster even I can tell that the leyline is too weak and unstable to fulfill the requirement of a system as elaborated as the Holy Grail was."

"Hmm….," Shirou said. "I don't like this."

"Too many coincidences?"

"Yes. It would have meant nothing for nearly everyone else, but that my long lost family is hell bent of having me, a Magus, reside there is too suspicious to just brush off as a chance."

"It still could be just a coincide though. Places of power like that have always been the site of historical building often unrelated to Magi. Perhaps your family used to be important in the past."

"Perhaps. I can't discard any theory at this point, but I'm going to keep my guard up until I find out exactly what's going on."

"Do you still think there has been some sort of foul play?"

"No. Three different laboratories have verified the blood sample. I 'm related to the Urashima without a doubt, but there's definitely more going on that a simple matter of finding a lost member of the family."

"Shirou," Rider said after a moment of pause. "I hate to point this out, but aren't you thinking too much like a Magus?"

"Uh? What do you mean?"

"I understand that within the Clock Tower family conspiracies are normal, but I believe that you are projecting that mentality on the rest of the world as well."

Shirou scratched his head sheepishly and sighed. He couldn't deny Rider words. Four years working with Magi from the organization forced him to adopt a cynical and suspicious approach to everything. It was a required trait since it was common practice to exploit other Magi and their families to gain status within the organization. In the Clock Tower everything could be traded, from spells to family members and every word had to be weighted properly.

Rin had hammered this notion into his brain for months before they left Fuyuki for London and he hadn't a chance to stop acting like that since, with the exception of his short vacations back in Japan.

He felt doubly ashamed of how trusting he used to be and how suspicious of others he became. He went from an extreme to the other and he was now having an hard time finding as middle ground. If there wasn't any nefarious plot behind this entire charade it would be a good occasion to find his mental balance again.

"Yeah. I can't deny that I do. I didn't have the time to unplug the _'Rin Mode'_ yet. Being attacked by my tenants didn't help me getting comfortable either."

"So long as you don't forget who you really are, Shirou. Sakura would be most displeased if she were to lose her Senpai and have Archer instead."

Shirou winced, but said nothing. There was no denying that a few years in the world of Magi had done much to make him act like his red-clad counterpart.

"Thanks for reminding me, Rider."

"Anytime Shirou. Just don't worry too much about it. _We_ won't let you become like him."

"… I know. Thanks."

"Besides, if you're worried about your tenants I could move in with you."

"Rider, I wouldn't dream of forcing you in spirit form for so long," Shirou said honestly. While it wasn't a burden for Servants to remain incorporeal for an undefined amount of time, Rider has since long grow accustomed with being materialized all the time.

"I didn't mean it like that. Your inn is a women dorm so there wouldn't be any objection with having me there."

"… The idea has merit, but let's wait for the moment. I prefer having someone looking in from outside the scene until I'm confident that there's no threat from inside the dorm. Besides, I've got the feeling that if a woman I know moves in two days after my arrival it would cause a major uproar. I don't want to have to deflect any accusation of turning the Hinata-sou in my personal den of debauchery."

"Oh my," she chuckled as she stepped closer to Shirou. "Why would they think something like that?"

Her slender arms circled his neck as she molded her body against his.

"R-R-Rider…," he stuttered, face aflame.

"Hmm… what is it, Shirou?"

"I… this…."

"Fu fu fu," she laughed softly, her mouth dangerously close to his ear. "You're just so cute. I can't believe how shy your still are despite everything that passed between us."

"I… don't… I mean…"

"Shh, enough words. Just stand still and let me devour you."

It was all the warning he received before he mouth clamped on his. He felt his Prana being drained away from his body, but his brain was too busy enjoying the feeling that her tongue brought to his own. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that Rider didn't need to latch on somebody to sustain her existence.

It was a gesture of affection from a being that was vampiric in nature. He guessed that if he had similar abilities he could reciprocate, but as it was he could only wrestle gently her tongue with his own.

She pulled back an indefinable amount of time later, but didn't let him go. Instead she opted to rest her chin on his shoulder while he supported his weakened self against the handrail that overlooked the town.

"Hmm," she moaned into his ear, sending a shiver down his spine, "It's been quite a while since the last time I had you all for myself. I missed this."

He rubbed his hand against the small of her back, resting the intense urge to let his touch slip further south.

"To be honest… so did I," he admitted. "The past four years have been sort of lonely, what we me traveling the world by myself and all."

"Rin was lucky to have you all for herself for an entire year."

"We didn't exactly have time to ourselves. Being the apprentice to the Wizard Marshall takes most of her time and I had my own classes to attend too. In fact I've seen more of you and Sakura than I did her."

"Oh. I have to let Sakura know then," She chuckled. "She was so worried that you and Rin would be so taken with each other that you'd forget about her. About us."

Shirou sighed. That was exactly what he feared it would happen when he accepted that kind of relationship.

"Rider I could never forget…" he was silenced by a slender finger across his lips.

"I know. We all know. You always keep your promises. You kept the one you made to Illya, the one you made to Sakura, the one you made to Rin and the one you made to me. Hmpf. You also kept the promise you mad to Saber, even if she's no longer in this world."

"I still feel like I'm holding all of you back."

"Are you dissatisfied with out _arrangement_?"

"No! It's not like that. It's just that I don't understand. Why me? You all could have much better."

"Fu fu fu. Could we now? And why would we? Shirou, none of us is what you'd call a normal person. Even if there was someone else in the world capable of accepting the madness that each of us carries, it would take too much time for us to trust that person. Any person capable of understating what we are would rather dissect us that have a relationship with us. If it wasn't for the bizarre circumstances of our meeting not even this relationship with you would have been possible."

"I.., guess…"

"You are too humble and don't realize your own worth. Besides, it's not like our lives are dedicated to you. We all are busy with our goals and wouldn't have too much time for a different relationship in any case. We are fine as we are."

"But…"

"No buts," she chided. "Stop underestimating us. We are more than capable of deciding for ourselves. Rin is trying to keep up with the _Kaleidoscope_ and Sakura has her duties as the new _Second Owner _of Fuyuki and her desire of developing the Makiri's Magecraft in a different direction from Zouken's. It's not like they're living their lives for your sake."

"And what about you?"

"Me? I'm simply happy of having a place to call home and people to call family. It's more than I could ever ask and wish for. Is it so difficult to understand, Shirou? We are happy as we are. You just do what you need to do and don't forget that you can come back to us anytime. We are, and always will be, your family."

"Sorry," he answered meekly, at loss for words.

"Stop apologizing, you idiot."

"Would _'thank you' _be better, then?"

"Much better," she confirmed.

They remained like that for a little while more, simply basking in each other presence. Shirou took the time to regain the energies he needed to move. Rider hadn't dried him to the point of passing out, but his legs felt a little weak nonetheless.

"I should go now," he said at one point. Rider removed herself from his embrace and stepped back, her usual composure restored. It was like the previous exchange did not happen at all.

"I will return to my hotel as well. Shall we meet again tomorrow?"

"Yes, that would be best. Come over in spirit form and take a peek at the inn if you feel like it. I'll probably be there the entire day. The place is practically falling apart so I'll have lot of work to do."

"I'll make sure to stop by."

"Rider," he began, "try not to harass my tenants. I don't want the place to gain the reputation of being haunted."

"Of course," she replied plainly, but there was a slight drop of her shoulder signaling he disappointment. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Goodnight."

She faded from view and Shirou felt her presence getting farther away.

"Goodnight, Rider."

* * *

><p>Shirou pulled the entrance door open and slid inside. The lights were still since it was still relatively early.<p>

"I'm back," he announced.

"Ah. Welcome back, Emiya-san," Shinobu greeted cheerfully. She was sitting at the kitchen table with Kaolla, playing some odd card games he never saw before.

"Play with us, Shirou," said dark skinned girl demanded.

"Maybe another time," he said apologetically watching Kaolla's shoulders drop. "I have to get up early tomorrow and start with the repairs. Let me get everything in order and I'll find some time to play with you afterwards."

"Promise?"

"I promise," he confirmed. On his way back, heeding Rider's words, he decided to have a more open attitude toward his tenants.

"Yay!" Kaolla cheered ,running in circles around him.

"I'll be going to sleep now. Maehara-san do you mind if I take care of breakfast tomorrow? You can have lunch."

"Of course," Shinobu accepted, glad of not having to get up early without being completely removed from kitchen duty. She liked to cook after all.

"Great. Goodnight then."

"Goodnight, Emiya-san."

He waved them off and went to his room. Rider's kiss had drained in more than one way. Thankfully, he was the kind of person that would get immediately back on his feet, so he wouldn't have any problem getting up the next morning.

He passed Kitsune, Motoko and Naru in the corridor on his way to his and greeted them more cheerfully than he ever did in the past few days.

* * *

><p>The trio joined the younger girl at the kitchen table.<p>

"He seemed in a batter mood than before," Motoko commented off-handedly.

"Yes, but he looked a lot more tired too."

"Eh," Kitsune chuckled. "I would be happy too if I was him."

"What do you mean, Kitsune-Senpai?" Shinobu asked. She couldn't see any reason why Shirou would be tired and happy for it. He didn't go out for a jog and he was out for less than two hours.

"You didn't notice?"

"Notice what, Kitsune-san?"

"The perfume," she said with a grin. "I definitely smelled a woman's perfume on him. Our new manager must have been quite busy tonight. Not bad for his first day in town."

"Eh… Eeeeeh," Shinobu squealed. "Emiya-san did… Emiya-san…. No…"

"Tch," Motoko snarled. "I knew that he would be up to no good as soon as he was out of sight."

"That.. that… that pervert," Naru agreed.

"I'm going to give him a piece of my mind," the swordswoman declared.

"Wait, wait, wait," the fox-woman said. "You can't just blame him because he smelled of a woman's perfume. We need to catch him into the act."

"What do you propose?"

"From tomorrow we trail him every evening until we found this lover of his," she declared. Her pride wouldn't accept that Shirou could brush off her advances only to run to another woman the very same day.

"Very well," Motoko agreed. "As soon as I catch him harassing an innocent woman I'll separate his filthy hands form the rest of his body. This I swear."

"Whoa. Motoko, relax."

"No," Naru objected, "we can't accept that our manager pervs around. He must understand that he's not allowed to do as he please."

"I agree. If we let him run free it won't take long before he turns his attention toward us. I will educate him properly before that happens."

Kitsune sweatdropped but said nothing. It looked like she had stirred a hornet nest with her comments. She only wanted to be the one to seduce Shirou, not to start a crusade against him.

She should have known better. Her friends were capable of conceiving a positive relationship between a man and a woman.

Well, if she played her cards right she could become Shirou's safe harbor in a stormy ocean. She would protect him from the two violent girls and he would be more than happy to provide for her in return.

She resisted the urge to crackle madly at her own evil plot, opting to return to her room for a late drink while the others were still busy discussing suitable punishments.

* * *

><p>In his futon, Shirou lay ignorant of his tenants machinations. His thoughts were focused on something else, namely the family he gained after the Holy Grail War.<p>

While it all happened over five years before the events were still clear in his mind. The fighting, the sense of loss. Sakura plight and Rider's loyalty. Illya's resignation and Rin's resolve and on top of them all Saber's ideals and dreams.

He supposed he should have felt proud with himself. Of all the people he fought to protect only Saber had to disappear and she did the ultimate sacrifice with a smile on her lips.

For a moment he wondered how things would have played out if he used his command seal and summoned Saber a moment too late when they got separated in the Ryuudo Temple, when the Shadow was about to digest her. He didn't want to think what he would have done without her support.

He fell asleep with that thought, his mind replaying the events over and over again.

* * *

><p><strong>Holy Grail War – 8<strong>**th**** Day**

_Shirou slammed his fists against the door of the temple. Saber had blocked it from the other side to prevent Assassin from reaching him, but that also meant she had to face him alone._

_He was sure that her strength was far superior to the skull masked Servant's but he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that crept over him._

_He glanced at his hand, were the sword-shaped Command Seal. Maybe she would scold him for interfering with her battle but he preferred to be safe than sorry. He wouldn't let fight a battle without him at her side._

_He clenched his fist and focused on the sign of power, willing his command through it._

"_**COME! SABER!"**_

_xXx_

_She was lost. Her body was sinking in the Shadow beneath her. It was devouring her from the inside and she had not enough strength to escape. Her last chance was wasted to repel Assassin's cursed arm, but the price of her small victory was the integrity of her soul._

"_I'm sorry, Shirou," she apologized to the Master she could no longer protect and resigned herself to be consumed by the ever-growing darkness._

"_**COME! SABER!"**_

_It rung strong and clear in her ears. An absolute command she could not refuse. Reality bent itself to grant her passage through space and time, ripping her away from the foul grasp of the Shadow. _

_The world shifted around her and in a moment she was again at the side of her Master . She had to appeal to every ounce of her knightly pride not to hug him right then and there._

"_Saber, are you all right?" he asked in concern seeing her stagger._

"_Master I…. "_

_That's all she could say before she blackened out for the lack of energy caused by being nearly consumed and by the forced teleportation._

"_SABER!" her Master voice calling her was the last thing she heard before losing her battle against unconsciousness._

_xXx_

_Shirou kneeled over Saber's unconscious form. She looked unarmed, but she was paler than he ever saw her. She was berating normally. but she wouldn't wake up no matter how much he called her. _

_Further attempts were halted when a raspy old voice revealed the presence of Matou Zouken._

"_This is an unexpected development," the elderly Magus said. Shirou found it difficult to distinguish his voice form the cry of the countless bugs that seemed to have invaded the temple "Fortune smiled upon you once, son of Emiya, but a small miracle won't change the outcome of this night. Assassin, finish them both."_

_Shirou had barely time to turn and feel a _Dark_ sail through the air, directed with deadly precision to his heart._

_Only to be intercepted by a nail-like weapon, wielded by a purple-clad Servant that had no reason at all to rescue him._

_What the hell was going on?_

_He watched her dance around the room, dodging Assassin precise strikes. The black Servant was confident that he could best Rider at any moment, but he didn't foresee the clever trap she had set for him._

_With a pull of her hands her chain wrapped tightly around the skeletal body, before she began flailing him around against the walls and sent him flying out of the building like a broken doll. It wasn't nearly enough to kill a phenomenon like a Servant, but it must have hurt like hell nonetheless._

_Shirou stood on his feet, cradling Saber in his arms defensively. He was very well aware that if Rider had ill intentions he could do very little to stop her, but he glared at her nonetheless._

_Zouken had wisely decided to retreat and the bugs disappeared along with him._

_Only Shirou and the two Servants remained in an uncomfortable silence._

"_Come, I'll escort you home," she said offhandedly._

_Shirou could only take advantage of the situation and accept. Whatever were her intentions, if she wanted to hurt him all she needed to do was not intervene. Besides, he needed to bring Saber to safety as soon as possible._

_He would have to look for answers later on._

* * *

><p>Shirou's eyes snapped open as the last remnants of his dream washed off his mind. He shook away the cobwebs and stood. He had rested enough, but when he dreamt of the past he always felt a little… misplaced. Like the war was still ongoing and real life was actually a dream.<p>

He got dressed an ready for the day. He had to go out and buy a lot of supplies to get the repairs done but before that he would take care of breakfast. He couldn't certainly begin hammering floorboards early in the morning when everyone else was still asleep.

He set himself to prepare the best breakfast he could pull off. He was going to need the energy and there was no better way to ingrate someone but conquering their stomach. It was a winning strategy every single time.

* * *

><p>Or not?<p>

The atmosphere around the table was tenser than ever before. Narusegawa and Aoyama ate their food like they had been forced to all the while shooting him angry glances when they thought he wasn't looking. Maehara on the other hand did her best to avoid meeting his gaze every time he looked in her direction. Only Konno and Suu were their usual normal self. … Well, as far as normal went for the two of them.

Shirou had the distinct impression that something was afoot and that he was at the center of it. How surprising.

Was it because he managed to lose them the previous evening or had they come up with some strange idea on their own. Did it even matter?

He shrugged internally. No use in wasting time over the thought. He had his own schedule set and no intention to let their behavior slow him down. If they had problems with him but didn't want to discuss them it was their loss.

He was willing to help people, even if it meant risking his life, but with the condition that they had to desire being helped. He had learned the hard way that not everyone wanted to be saved and would hate and curse those who tried.

He would deal with eventual problems when they actually presented themselves.

He just had no idea how many problems would come up in the following days

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

It's funny that I get the inspiration to write more of this story when I've already labeled it as a major fail.

I began writing it in a spur of the moment, not really caring about long term development and now I'm paying the price of my folly.

I thought that abandoning it was the best thing I could do, but I was never know for doing smart choices so I decided to continue it and actually came up with some sort of plot.

The story will have two sides, at least initially.

One part will revisit the AU Heaven's Feel route you had to begin reading this chapter and will continue through Shirou's post war years.

The second side will explore his time at the Hinata-sou and his changing relationship with the girls. Of course Shirou wouldn't be himself if he trouble don't come looking for him so be reassured that he will soon find himself fighting for his life.

As for the AU Heaven's Feel I always wondered how things would have played out if Shirou summoned Saber before she was consumed by the Shadow, or if he traced Rule Breaker in the cave instead of stabbing her with the Azoth Knife.

Truth to be told I have many Au-ish scenario rolling in my head but not enough to make a single worthwhile story by itself, so I decided to use this particular one as a background for Shirou .

Since I decided to actually apply more effort to this story I would rather have a beta for it. Any volunteers? If you are interested please PM me. This is also the last chapter until I get a one, since I want to keep this story up to standards from now on.

Goodbye for now.


	5. Setting things straight

**Chapter 5 – Setting things straight (published: 05.27.2012 - Beta: Sperance)**

* * *

><p>The usually quiet atmosphere of Hinata-Sou was being disturbed by the sound of heavy hammering coming from the roof.<p>

True to his word, Shirou had begun working on the more urgent repairs as soon as he had finished eating breakfast.

Despite the clear effort he was putting into his job, there was no strain visible on his face. After all, he was used to manual labor and his rigorous physical training showed its results even in menial tasks. Besides, he really liked this kind of jobs. He felt a very basic form of satisfaction in making things work properly again. It wasn't merely something that stemmed from his wish to help others but a genuine love for the task.

When he was a teenager, he used to pick odd jobs to meet ends every month, even if his father had left him a considerable amount of money after his death. Shirou had always preferred to be as self-reliant as possible, and considering how he had ended up using his inheritance after the war it was all the more worthy.

With that kind of background, he was easily capable of taking care of every repair needed without hiring professional help, which meant more money left in the Hinata-Sou accounts.

Of course, not everything was good. Even if he spent the entire morning repairing the roof, the residents of the dorm would take their time to come up and criticize his work. They weren't straightforward about it, of course, but some offhanded comments about making sure he wasn't slacking off were really starting to annoy him.

Patience, he figured, was the key to change the situation. He had no intention of being their doormat, and if they behavior went too far he would make his displeasure known, but otherwise he would take their small, childish jibes with a smile on his face.

Reacting badly would only put him on their level and he didn't want to debase himself like that. Amongst the many things he had learned from Saber there was the concept of keeping his head high and staying above petty arguments.

Granted, he hadn't always managed to do it. God knows just how many times he had snapped at Rin during their time together at the Clock Tower. Then again, Rin had a talent for get under his skin (or anyone else's, for that matter), and he cared for her too much to just ignore her altogether.

Snarky comments, which led to heated discussions that became angry arguments that were usually defused by…. Err. No. That wasn't a viable way to settle things with his tenants, so it was better to push such things out of his mind.

Besides he had other things to worry about. Things like his tenants' behavior. Odd didn't begin to cover it; it was plain as a day that most of them had serious problems of some sort. Starting with Narusegawa and Aoyama, with their deep rooted mistrust, if not outright hate, for the male half of the human race. From what he could imagine, they had either been brought up in a man-hating environment or they had suffered some sort of sexual harassment.

The latter wasn't too difficult to imagine. They were both very attractive young women who lived in a very populated area. It wasn't unlikely that they had been subjected to unwanted attentions on many a different occasion and developed a deep distaste for the opposite gender from there. He preferred not to think that they could have been victims of more serious and traumatic abuses. He was fairly certain that if that had been the case they would have rather moved out of Hinata-Sou than remain there with him.

There was also Konno. The resident fox-lady didn't seem to take anything seriously and drowned everything in sake and horse races. He didn't quite know what to make of her, but her intentions for him were rather evident. He had made a mental promise of never being alone with her, less she put him in an embarrassing situation to blackmail him.

Not that it would have worked with him, but he would rather not get in such a situation in the first place.

Then there was Suu. The foreigner girl was nothing short of a genius from what he had gathered. He had seen her tinkering with complex mechanism with an ease that could only be born from practice. He was no engineer but he had a better than average grasp of mechanics, yet Suu's creations were entirely beyond the scope of his understanding.

In spite of that she acted like a middle-school student at her best, and he had the distinct impression that it was just a ruse. Maybe she was just odd like that, but she seemed a little too forceful in her behavior sometimes.

The last one and probably the less problematic was Maehara. The shy and soft-spoken sixteen-year-old girl was an even shyer version of Sakura. Something like that was actually anything but reassuring, considering what she had kept hidden for years behind that warm smile of hers. As a result Maehara was the one that worried Shirou the most, mainly because she wasn't the kind of person that wouldn't freely express her feelings.

Well, perhaps he was worrying over nothing. While Maehara seemed to have trouble voicing her opinion, she didn't seem capable of hiding her emotions. Even though, he would keep a close eye on her, just in case.

"Emiya-san?"

Speaking of the devil…

"Yes, Maehara-san?"

He stopped his hammering and turned to the girl standing at the closest window to his left with a smile.

"Ano… I wondered if you felt like having some tea."

Shirou glanced at his wristwatch and noticed it was already past ten. Time sure flied when he was focusing on something.

"I'd love that," he answered. "Thanks."

He returned inside the building via the window and gratefully accepted her tea. He was thirstier that he had thought and the warm fluid was really appreciated. They drank in comfortable silence for a few seconds, at least on Maehara's part. Shirou was all too aware of the presence of the residing swordswoman just outside the room.

"If you'd like to join us, Aoyama-san, you are more than welcome," he said offhandedly before taking a sip.

* * *

><p>Motoko walked in the room with a guarded expression, her hand resting almost casually on the hilt of her sword. Almost.<p>

"How did you know I was there?"

"You aren't as silent as you'd like to think you are," he simply said. "The stairs are old and squeaky. Even the lightest foot makes it creak a little."

"How did you know it was me?"

"Anyone else would have made a lot more noise," he explained with a shrug.

Motoko's surprise was expressed only by an extra blinking. It was quite obvious to her that she had the lightest step of all the residents of the dorm. Training the way of the sword required a great control of one's balance, after all, and as result she could have a very light step, if she so wished.

However, it was unsettling that the new manager had both the acute hearing and the sufficient experience to deduce her identity only from that. This seemingly unassuming and quiet man was deeper than she had initially thought. This only made him all the more dangerous in her opinion, as she couldn't circumvent his guard and catch him in his perverted acts as easily as she had planned.

Silence fell upon the group. Emiya didn't say another word and continued to drink his tea while Shinobu looked at both of them in obvious confusion, not really understanding what was going on.

"It was delicious. Thank you, Maehara-san."

"Y- You're welcome," she replied smiling.

"Then I'll return to my task."

"Thank you for your hard work, Emiya-san," Shinobu said with a small bow while Emiya climbed out of the window.

Motoko didn't like the way Shinobu obviously clung to the perverted manager. She still couldn't understand that behind the nice façade they put up, all men were loathsome beasts. She would have to make sure that Shinobu wouldn't have to find out the hard way.

Of course that meant educating Emiya before he came up with any unsavory ideas. In that case Motoko didn't have any problems with doing it the hard way.

* * *

><p>Lunch time came, passed and soon Shirou found himself staring at his handiwork. The roof was completely repaired. No more water getting inside the building when it rained. With that out of the way he could finally move on to other stuff.<p>

"You did a great job," Haruka said climbing on the roof and giving its surface an analytical look. "You really have good hands."

"Thanks, Haruka. I did my fair share of odd jobs while in high school. I have picked a few skills here and there," he said finally standing upright. Regardless of how used he was to physical effort, his back still cracked in protest.

"Eh, sounds to me like you earned your rest, Shirou."

"Yeah. I think I need to take a long hot bath. I'm really looking forward to dip in the hot springs. At least there's one perk to my forced residence here."

xXx

"Uh?"

That summed up Shirou's thoughts when he was showed his personal bathroom. He wasn't sure it even qualified as a tub. He could barely sit in it.

"What exactly is this?"

"Your bathroom, Emiya-san," Aoyama announced proudly.

"And why exactly do I have to use this barrel as a tub when there's a hot spring just downstairs?"

"Because that's reserved for us girls," Narusegawa explained.

"And that's written where, exactly?"

"This is a female dormitory, therefore the facilities are reserved to us tenants," the swordswoman replied sternly.

"Arguable," Shirou objected. "Nevermind that. I'll use it this time. Please, Aoyama-san, pass the word that there's going to be a meeting in the living room in an hour."

"About what?"

"Usage of the common facilities."

Aoyama eyed him warily for a moment, but then nodded and left with Narusegawa. Shirou sighed heavily; the situation was starting to get out of hand. He didn't like the idea of enforcing his authority over the girls, but apparently there was a serious misconception he just couldn't let slide. Otherwise things would only get even more complicated in the long run.

He undressed, and proceeded to clean himself. He tried to enjoy the feeling brought to his muscles by the warm water, but the cramped space put a serious strain against his efforts.

He wasn't feeling much better when he put on clean clothes and went to the living room.

xXx

"This is absolutely unacceptable!" Aoyama raged. "We went as far as preparing you a personal bathroom. Does your ungratefulness know no boundaries, Emiya?"

Yes, that was more or less what he expected to happen.

"I don't see how you can say something like that with a straight face, Aoyama-san."

"Your request is denied. The hot springs are for the tenants' use only."

"Right," Shirou said with a sigh, "I imagined that's what you'd say."

"Then you should have not brought this matter up in the first place. Is there anything else?"

"Yes. Yes, there is. You have probably misunderstood what I said earlier. I wasn't asking nor was I requesting. I was _informing_ you all that from now on the use hot spring will be regulated by a weekly schedule."

"No way!" Narusegawa objected standing up and slamming her hands on the table. "Didn't you hear what we said? You can't use the hot springs!"

"Narusegawa-san, you really don't get it. It's not your choice and it's not up to debate either. Considering that I'm the only male here and that the springs aren't used most of the day it's not even a sacrifice on your part."

"Are you saying that your word supersede ours, Emiya-san? On what grounds do you think you can ignore the majority's decision?"

"Hmm… I don't really know, Aoyama-san. It may be on grounds that I'm a resident, the manager and, more importantly, the owner of this dorm?"

"Be that is it may, you should simply concede this point. This is a female dorm and as such the facilities should be reserved to women."

"You know, I would have not necessarily accepted, but I could have debated this matter with you if you hadn't decided all by yourselves what I'm entitled to do or not to do with my own property. Seeing how you haven't asked for my opinion beforehand, I shall ask you use the same courtesy and ignore your preferences altogether."

"We shall not stand for this!"

"Tough luck. It's not really your choice to begin with. You can either adapt to what the new management has decided or you can find yourself another place to live. This decision is final."

"This- this- this-"

"I hope that from now on you'll consult me before coming up with decisions that aren't yours to make. Now, seeing how tomorrow I have more repairs to do, I'll be taking my leave. That will be all. Good evening, everyone."

Shirou stood and walked out nonchalantly. He didn't really like saying the things he did but it was clear that he had to start curbing their prevaricating behavior before it became too difficult to eradicate. They would detest him, which wasn't that much of a novelty, but they would have to give up. If he had to take the responsibility of being the manager he would also exercise his right to decide how things worked within the walls of Hinata-Sou.

If they couldn't live with his decisions, well, the way out was the same as the way in.

* * *

><p>"The nerve of that man," Motoko growled as soon as Emiya had closed the door behind him.<p>

Shinobu really didn't know what to say. She had found out about the bathroom situation when Emiya-san had brought the matter up during the meeting. It turned out that it had been a choice made by Naru-senpai and Motoko-senpai without telling the others and now Emiya-san was angry with her too.

Well, it wasn't like he was at fault for being angry with her. For the second time she had failed to stand in his defense when she thought he was right. After all, he was the owner of the dorm. It was well within his rights to use the facilities as he preferred. As a matter of fact, he had still been kind enough to decide of putting up a schedule visible to everyone as to avoid walking on each other in the baths.

Then why were Motoko-senpai and Naru-senpai so angry with him? And why was she so weak that she couldn't say what she thought out loud? She didn't want Emiya-san to hate her, but she was just too weak to speak up.

"Hey," Kitsune chided, cutting out the other two girls' rant. "Weren't we supposed to follow him?"

"Ah. You're right," Naru said.

"Maybe we can still catch up with him," Kitsune said.

"What's the use? Even if we catch him doing something improper, he has made it clear that he's the one in charge. He'll just tell us again to live with it and shut up," Naru sighed.

"That may not be true. What if we take pictures of him while he's harassing a woman? With those we could force him to return control of Hinata-Sou to us."

"Motoko-chan," Kitsune beamed, "I knew there was some potential in you. Let's go after him!"

The trio stood and ran out, not really paying any attention to Shinobu or Kaolla. In fact, Kaolla might as well not have been there at all, seeing as she kept fiddling with an handheld videogame for the entire time.

That left Shinobu alone with her thoughts, which meant she kept berating herself internally for not standing up when she should have.

* * *

><p>"Where's he gone?"<p>

"I can see him over there," Motoko proclaimed, pointing in the direction she was looking at.

Kitsune was excited. It wasn't exactly like she had planned things to go like that with the new dorm manager but it couldn't be helped. The man actually had a spine and used it to challenge them. That wouldn't do at all.

She liked her men properly tamed, or she wouldn't feel safe around them. While she found Shirou's firmness somewhat arousing, she needed him properly broken in and discouraged so that he would look up at her for comfort. Her plan couldn't quite work if he was too strong and self-reliant. That was a definite no-no.

She would have to go along with Motoko's plan for the time being and then let the other girls lord over him for a few weeks. Then she would swoop in and rescue him from their clutches. It would create a good middle ground. On one side, he wouldn't probably challenge the girls again for the fear of falling back in a compromising situation, while on the other he would hold her above everyone, himself included.

After that she could spend her days leisurely between sake and horse races…. aaaand if she happened to be in the right mood she could let Shirou enjoy her… company.

That, of course, would be after she made it perfectly clear that he couldn't just fool around with other women.

Hm-hm. It was a perfect (for her) scenario and, in the end, everyone would be happy. She was just a good person like that.

"There! He snuck in the same alley as yesterday," Motoko pointed out.

"Hurry up or we'll lose him again!"

They followed him just a few scant meters behind. The streets were even more crowded than the previous evening, so there was little chance of him noticing them even if they were close.

As soon as he turned in the small space between buildings, they went after him…

… only to find a completely empty street before them.

"What the…? Where did he go?"

"There's no way he could have reached the other road already," Naru observed, and she was right. Even if he went in a mad sprint as soon as he turned the corner they would still have caught a glimpse of him.

"Maybe he hid somewhere," Motoko said. There were many boxes and crates piled against the walls as it often happened in the streets between shops.

They carefully searched every nook and cranny where he could have hidden but still found no trace of him.

"He… he's gone."

"No…," Motoko stated gravely, grasping the hilt of her sword. "He is still here and he is watching us. I can feel it."

"Motoko-chan," Kitsune chided playfully, amused by the younger girl's reaction. "There's no place to hide that we didn't already check. You're just imagining things."

"T- that's right, he must have run to the other side," Naru confirmed, but there was a small quiver in her voice.

"No. I had the same feeling yesterday in this same place. I don't know where he's hiding but he is still here. I know it."

"Come on, Motoko," Kitsune sighed, "where could he be? Above us?"

She asked as much while she pointed upward. As a reaction, Motoko's gaze followed her finger until she was looking at the upper edge of the building.

And then froze.

Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, Naru did the same, only to widen her eyes as she gazed at the same point as Motoko's.

"Uh? Naru? Motoko? What's wrong?"

They didn't answer. Not understanding what could have caught their attention so completely as to ignore her, Kitsune finally looked up.

The full moon was shining in the sky between the buildings, but the three girls had no eyes for the splendor of Earth's natural satellite. The focus of their attention was a lone human figure standing on the very edge of the building, almost threatening to fall down.

Long hair swirled in the motionless night. Nail like weapons connected by a long chain reflected the light of the moon in an ominous manner.

A blindfold covered its eyes completely, but Kitsune just knew that the woman-like… thing was glaring right through her soul with inhuman hunger.

So beautiful and so terrible at the same time, it was something that defied description. The being went against everything that was…

'_Not human,_' were the only two words that filled her mind, repeating themselves continuously. _'Not human.'_

The sounds of the city didn't reach her ears anymore, and the previously warm air was now a cold chill that gripped her spine. It was like they had fallen into a pit and were being stared down by a horde of hungry snakes.

The figure didn't move, didn't speak, didn't breath. It was there and a moment later… it was gone.

_**Thump**_**!**

"Eeek!" Kitsune shouted, startled by the sudden noise. She turned to her left only to see Naru lying on her butt with tears in her eyes.

Motoko's hand had clenched the hilt of her sword so tightly that her knuckles had gone white and her forehead was drenched in sweat.

The taste of copper in her mouth told Kitsune that she had clenched her jaw tight enough to draw blood.

"L-l-let's get out of here," Naru proposed.

There was no object to what had to be the smartest idea Kitsune had ever heard.

* * *

><p>"Was that really necessary?" Shirou asked the purple clad Servant as he watched the three girls run away. They didn't look back and didn't care for the odd looks they received from the people they bumped against, so great was their urge to get as far away as possible.<p>

"Necessary? No," Rider answered materializing herself at his side. "It was a pretty fun, though."

"Rider, I can deal with them just fine."

"Yes, that much was clear by the conversation you had with them, but that doesn't mean I can just forgive how they treat you. Consider it something I did for my own benefit."

He should have thought that much. Rider was a woman of few words, but she was fiercely protective of the people she cared about. Her loyalty to Sakura had broadened in the past few years to encompass the rest of their extended family. She would always put Sakura first, but she wouldn't just ignore those who hurt the people she cared about.

"I appreciate the thought," he said honestly. He could have said that she shouldn't do such things, but it wasn't like she ever listened to him. She had learned to care about them, but the only orders she would ever heed were Sakura's.

"You look a little tense, Shirou," Rider said, changing topic. "Would you like to blow off some steam with me?"

Well, wasn't that a great idea?

xXx

_**CLANG! CLANG!**_

Kanshou and Bakuya hissed through the air, intercepting the nail-like weapons wielded by Rider. Shirou barely had time to deflect them before ducking away to avoid a kick to the face. As much as he found Rider's legs entrancing, he had no intention of having them smash his nose.

_**CLANG! CLANG! SHRRRRHH!**_

Just dodging and deflecting would never be enough against Rider. As Assassin could have attested, had he survived the war, when fighting with her you had to be very careful of _where_ you dodged. The chain that connected her weapons wasn't just for show, after all. It was even more dangerous than its sharp extremes, as Rider used it to craft a trap for her preys. She would let her enemies believe they could handle the snake's fangs, only to trap them in its spires.

Shirou knew her tactics and movements very well, but he wisely avoided underestimating her. She was clever and could come up with new tactics on the spot, rendering his previous experiences nearly useless.

"You have become faster, Shirou," she observed while she kept up her attack.

"I have you to thank for it," he answered as he dodged kick after kick, with the occasional nail in between.

"I disagree. It is all thanks to your own efforts. Now, let's step this up a notch."

She blurred out of sight and Shirou reacted on raw instinct to bring Kanshou behind his head to barely block a kick that would have knocked him unconscious if it had connected. The impact almost threw him off balance, but he held his ground.

"You're on," he replied through gritted teeth.

_**- I am the bone of my sword. -**_

He chanted and his circuits flared alive. Prana flooded his body, strengthening his muscles, bones and nerves. His eyes reinforced and he could see Rider again.

_**- Iron is my blood and glass is my heart.-**_

"An opening with two verses? Flatterer," Rider commented with the slightest of smirks.

"I can't afford to go easy on you."

"Indeed."

_**CLANG! CLANG! CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!**_

Switching from the defensive to the offensive, Shirou darted forward, passing in the middle of her chain before she could wrap him in it, and closed the distance between them. It was a bold move, seeing that if he miscalculated the timing he would find himself trapped, but it was also the one she expected the less.

Her speed and weapons made her a close to middle-range fighter with dangerous hit-and-run tactics. His best chance to overcome her was to keep close to her for long enough to break through her guard.

That was easier said than done. Rider was well aware of her weakness and was likely to lure him into a trap. The moment he thought he had her… that was when the trap would spring.

It was exhilarating having to fight against an adversary that was both stronger and smarter than he was. Like she said, his skills had grown leaps and bounds since the war, but he still had a lot of ground to cover to keep up with her.

Even if in the past he had managed to overcome two Servants in direct confrontation, it had been a very close call in both instances, and he had had lots of unfair advantages over them. Advantages he didn't possess against Medusa.

Rider leaped back when he saw Shirou dashing at her, but he couldn't afford to give her any reprieve, throwing Kanshou at her while he projected another copy as soon as the blade left his hand. Even with his reinforced body, Rider was just too fast and agile for Shirou to catch her with conventional means. It was time to switch tactics.

* * *

><p>The sword sailed through the air, spinning so fast that it looked like a razor sharp disk.<p>

It wasn't much of a threat to her, not like that. She merely moved out of its path and the sword lost itself in the foliage around them. That was odd. She had sparred against Shirou using the _Married Blades_ countless times. She could easily predict the patter of the thrown blade by looking at the movements of the Bakuya still in his hand. Naturally she considered things like distance, speed and even the other Kanshou traced in the midst to predict the variation in the attraction field and the subsequent return trajectory. Against someone who had accumulated enough experience facing those swords like she did, the chances of the technique taking her unprepared where dim, at best.

That was the theory, anyway.

As a precaution she followed the sound of the thrown blade while Shirou charged at her and she just had to grin at the sheer audacity of his plan.

What a clever little trick.

The airborne blade came back at breakneck speed from the direction it was supposed to if another Kanshou hadn't been traced. If it wasn't for the fact that she had bothered following it, she would have fell for it.

She jumped again out of the way, leaving Shirou in the path of his own weapon. The redhead quickly dismissed the _fake_ Kanshou and snatched the incoming blade in midair.

Rider landed in a crouch, several meters away and studied his opponent.

"How flattering of you, coming up with a technique just for me. I didn't know you could project a modified blade."

* * *

><p>Shirou took the chance to catch his breath. He wasn't tired in the slightest, but when in battle, every chance to recuperate even a little was invaluable.<p>

"It's not really like that," Shirou objected. "Theoretically I can modify a sword while in blueprint stage, but it takes too much focus and energy for doing in combat as I am now. I'd get killed before I even projected it"

"Then where did that sword come from? The second Kanshou you made clearly wasn't like the first. How did you do it?"

"It was an imitation," he explained, and even if her eyes were covered he could swear that she had just blinked owlishly at him. "I mean an honest imitation. I _forged_ by myself a set of blades identical to Kanshou and Bakuya minus the attraction effect. They are just a lookalike, and to be honest I didn't create them exclusively for you."

"I see," she said standing upright and putting a hand on her chin. "Anyone skilled enough could calculate the trajectory of the blades once they saw them a couple of times. Someone really good could do the same even with multiple pair of swords affecting each other, but if a non-attractive set was put into the equation…"

"Then the trajectory would become entirely unpredictable so long as the fake pair wasn't identified."

"And of course, only you can tell which is which with a single glance, even if you lost sight of them at some point. Oh my, how clever of you."

"I don't know about that. I just tried to diversify my techniques."

"It's still very commendable, although I cannot hide my surprise," she said as she dismissed her weapons and walked up to him. "I would have never expected you to counterfeit even yourself."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm a Faker. I don't need to be reminded every time that I'm just a cheap imitation."

_**FLICK!**_

"Ouch," Shirou cried holding his nose. "What was that for?"

"I do not like people speaking ill of you, not even yourself. You might be a Faker, but you are not a fake yourself."

"Gilgamesh wasn't of the same opinion."

"The _King of Heroes_ could truly appreciate only himself. Everything was just for his amusement or, failing that, a target for his disdain. Someone like him, who was born entitled to every treasure in the world, could never truly understand those who strife for everything they wish to achieve. Shirou, even if your talents lay in imitating something else, the effort you put in it it's your own."

"Saber told me the same thing once," he admitted, looking everywhere but at Rider.

"See? You should learn to appreciate yourself more."

"I tried, you know. For the sake of you all I tried and I'll keep trying, but it isn't easy. I just… My… distortion is too deep rooted to remove completely. Perhaps I will learn how to curb it a little, but in the end…"

"In the end Shirou Emiya is someone who values others above himself," she finished for him. "Well, at least the war taught you how to prioritize. Besides, Saber won't let you die easily either."

"… You knew?"

"Fu fu fu. I might be an anti-hero, but I'm still a Heroic Spirit."

"I didn't fool anyone, did I?"

"No. Sakura knew immediately when you returned from England and even if we didn't speak with Rin yet, you were never capable of hiding anything from her either."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Shirou asked, still looking away, no longer out of embarrassment but rather out of shame.

"When you came back you looked elated, relieved. We knew that you had found what you were looking for, but you were also pensive and distant, like you still had more questions than answers. We decided it was better not to press the matter. You might be a stubborn fool, but you always knew how to ask for help if you thought you needed it."

"…"

"So take your time, think as much as you need and when you're ready tell us whatever you want."

"I will," he confirmed finally returning his gaze to her. "Someday I definitely will tell you everything."

"That's all we ask of you. Now you'd better go back to the dorm before your tenants decide to give you any more grief."

"You're right. I'd better be going now. Tomorrow, same place, same hour?"

"Don't be late."

Shirou watched her fade and felt her leave, before moving to retrieve his tools. Kanshou and Bakuya were simply dismissed, but he walked to the edge of the clearing were four knives were embedded into the ground. They had several complex sets of runes engraved over the blades. By themselves they had no effect, but when placed in a certain geometrical pattern they could be used as relay points to erect a Boundary Field.

If anyone got close enough, they would feel the urge to be somewhere else, and every sound within the perimeter would be contained completely.

It wasn't an exceptional thing per se, but the knives were special in that they weren't a projection. They were the very first sword-shaped Mystic Codes of his own creation.

As he was absolutely untalented for any branch of magic beside Projection and Reinforcement he had to come up with a way to compensate.

The Holy Grail War had given him the answer. As he was capable of understanding and replicating any mystery so long as they came in the shape of a sword, all he had to do was have them applied to a blade and they would become easily accessible.

That didn't mean that he had suddenly obtained the key to mastering every single branch of Magic. Many spells couldn't just be _runed_ onto as sword and some weren't suited to be applied on a blade either. Healing by cutting didn't work quite well.

In the end it still came down to his knowledge of the spells he wanted to use, so he had to study the mystery he was interested in, break it down to a workable runic counterpart and engrave them on a suitable support. Sure, he could have commissioned someone with better knowledge than him to make the swords, but Mystic Codes crafters worked for more money than he ever possessed.

While he retrieved his knives he thought about the other ability he came to discover when he first created his blades.

As he found out more about his talents he came to realize that his ability wasn't exactly c_reating swords_ by projection, but rather pulling them out from his inner-world. Therefore it stood to reason that he should also have been capable of _putting them in _if so he wanted. He hadn't been mistaken.

One by one, he placed each knife on his forearm's skin and watched them sink _inside_ without wounding him. It was still a novel experience, but so long as a blade didn't have the _Sentience of Steel_ to acknowledge someone else as a master he could claim them for himself without problem.

That was the second reason for him to craft his own swords. If somebody else created them for him, that person would have a claim of paternity that would supersede his right as a wielder unless he used them long enough for them to bond with him. After all he was originally a _Faker_, not an owner.

It was tricky, but he reasoned that his efforts would eventually make him more than someone who could only imitate others and leech off their skills.

Feeling better than he had felt during the whole day, Shirou made his way back to the inn whistling a jaunty tune.

xXx

'_I knew it,'_ he sighed as he stood in front of the entrance. _'I knew Rider's stunt would backfire on me.'_

In his absence the entire building had been decorated like a temple under siege by a horde of demons. Now he had to feign ignorance, calm the tenants and put things back in order.

"I'm back," he announced sliding the door open. "May I know what's going… uh."

In the middle of the entrance hall stood Aoyama, dressed in full Miko regalia with her sword pointed threateningly at him. Behind her, the rest of the girls were huddled together and dressed in the same manner.

Haruka was to the side, leaning against the wall with the ever present cigarette in her mouth. She wore her usual clothes and a look of mild amusement. It seemed that she was there just to enjoy the show. He wished he could learn how to find funny the residents' shenanigans.

"I know we didn't exactly part on friendly terms earlier, but isn't this a bit too much?"

"S-stand back! We must ascertain if you are possessed by evil spirits or not," the swordswoman explained.

"What brought this up? Why would I be possessed all of a sudden?

"W-we saw a ghost earlier," Narusegawa squeaked and Konno nodded fearfully at her side.

"I see," he said with a shrug. "Very well, go ahead."

Aoyama began circling him, murmuring something that sounded like a Buddhist prayer and spreading incense around. Shirou was actually beginning to find the situation pretty amusing. It wasn't a good thing to enjoy other people's fears but he couldn't forget that they had sort of brought this upon themselves.

"I'm finished. There's no trace of possession on him," Motoko finally declared.

"Wonderful," he said flatly. "Can I go now?"

"Shirou," Haruka spoke. "You don't seem surprised about this ghost madness they came up with."

"Should I be? I believe in the existence of spirits, and they notoriously go after people who did something bad. Perhaps it was looking for people who don't mind their own business, or maybe it was haunting people who aren't good at following others without being noticed. Hmm, thinking about it, maybe it was looking for a blackmailer wannabe."

"Ah," Kitsune said with the typical expression of one who had been caught red-handed. Behind him Motoko stiffened more than she already was.

"_Ah,_ indeed, Konno-san. This is the second time I've caught you and Aoyama-san following me around and the first for Narusegawa-san."

"We were just…"

"Hoping to find me in a compromising situation and use that knowledge to force me into doing your bidding," he provided for her. "Whatever I do inside my room or outside the property doesn't concern you. Invasion of privacy is not only rude and disrespectful; it's also grounds for eviction and criminal offense. Don't make me catch any of you in the act of spying on me again or there'll be consequences. Did I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes," Kitsune stuttered under his steely gaze.

"I was addressing everyone involved, so I'm expecting three answers. Did I make myself clear?"

"… Yes," Narusegawa conceded with a soft voice, not meeting his eyes.

"… I didn't hear your voice, Aoyama-san."

"I understand," the swordswoman finally replied, challenging his stare with some difficulty.

"Then I'll consider this matter closed. I'm really tired and I need to sleep. Maehara-san?"

"Y-yes?" the girls answered, startled by being suddenly addressed.

"I'll take care of breakfast again tomorrow. Is that fine with you?"

"O-o-of course."

"Great. Good night, everyone."

* * *

><p>Naru watched the tyrannical new manager heading toward his room and waited until he was well outside hear shot before voicing her doubts.<p>

"H-how did he know why we were following him? I can understand that he noticed us, but we didn't talk about the reason until long after he left and never while following him…"

A chilling silence descended among the presents while they tried to come up with an answer that wouldn't leave them sleepless for nights to come.

"A spirit told me, Narusegawa-san," Emiya's voice rung loud and clear from his room, several meters and walls away, laced with sarcasm.

"Holy shit," Kitsune nearly shouted, "he can hear us from there?"

The door to Emiya's room opened and the redhead came walking out. He stormed until he was standing in front of a Kitsune far too shocked to decide in which direction to run first. Maybe all of them at once?

"There are minors in this dorm, Konno-san. Please refrain from swearing in their presence."

"Ah-uh-eh. No. I mean, yes! I will."

He nodded and returned from whence he came. An even deeper silence fell among the gathered. No one dared to even breathe too loudly. Except Kaolla, but then again, she and Shinobu were the only two tenants who hadn't done anything to warrant the manager's anger.

It was Haruka who finally broke the silence after taking one last puff from her cigarette.

"Well, I don't think there's anything I can add to what he said. Seriously girls, what were you thinking?"

"Haruka-san," Motoko said, "are you taking his side because he is your nephew?"

"I'm taking his side because you are at fault. How would you feel if he started following you instead? And Kitsune… Blackmail? Really?"

"I- It's well within our rights to make sure he's not a threat," Motoko objected.

"Motoko… grow up. Not every man in the world is out to get you."

"That man is dangerous," she protested.

"Is he now? Did he do a single thing to warrant your mistrust besides having been born a male?"

"I- He…. He did not," she sighed in defeat.

"Then why don't you just give him a chance and see how it goes from there? Motoko, you are more than capable of handling a threat should the need arise and you all can come and talk to me if there's something you need to work out with him."

"Then what about the hot spring?" Naru asked immediately.

"The situation is entirely your fault and his decision isn't unreasonable either. Live with it."

"Ugh, fine."

"Great," she acknowledged without losing her usually detached expression. "Oh, and Kitsune?"

"Yes, Haruka?"

"Any more of your smart plans and I'll kick you out of here before he does. You are not allowed to hurt my family just because you don't feel like paying the rent. Got it?"

"Yes Ma'am," the fox said, not daring to oppose the stern woman. No one in their right mind would.

"Good. Now, as fun as this night has been, I still have to open up shop tomorrow. Goodnight, everyone."

* * *

><p>Shirou dropped his reinforcement and his hearing returned to normal levels. He didn't like eavesdropping, but he had secrets to preserve, more for the safety of his tenants than his own. Besides, he wasn't snooping around their private lives but protecting his own.<p>

Regardless of that, the entire exchange had been unpleasant. He didn't like to exercise his authority even if it was well within his rights, but his tenants didn't seem to want a peaceful coexistence.

Now, with the intervention of Haruka, on top of him standing his ground, perhaps things would improve. Trust between them was still an issue, and he was no longer naïve enough to think that the problem would solve itself given enough time.

He had to make the opening move because they would definitely not open up to him more than needed, if even that. But what could he give or give up that they could consider as a reason to trust him a little more?

Well, there was no need to lose sleep over it. At least he was now fairly certain that the girls weren't part of an elaborate plot by some crazy Magus out to get him. Unless said Magus was planning of killing him out of stress, that is.

Seeing how his thoughts were getting odder by the minute he turned on his side and willed himself to sleep.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author Notes:<strong>_

So, I found myself a beta, though I must admit I received over ten requests for the job. Thanks for the support everyone.

There's not much to say about this chapter. If you found odd Shirou's new abilities fell free to ask. I want to remind you that I created a forum (link on my profile page) to discuss everything you'd like about this fic.

That being said, thanks for reading and eventually reviewing.

Bye.


	6. Setting up Shop

**Chapter 6 – Setting up Shop  
>(Published: 06.22.12 – Beta: Sperance)<strong>

* * *

><p>Shisui, one of the Aoyama's most ancient blades, cut through the air with smooth motions, producing a wheezing noise every time it was swung.<p>

There was, however, a tone of dissonance in the otherwise clear sound.

To say that Motoko wasn't happy was an understatement. She was obviously upset and her anger manifested through her blade.

The situation was unnerving to her for more than just one reason, although the cause could only be the newly arrived manager.

Emiya Shirou was a man she couldn't quite pinpoint. Initially, she had pegged him as just another example of the male kind and thus had proceeded with preparing proper countermeasures to contain his soon-to-be manifested debauchery.

To her surprise, nothing like that had happened. From day one there hadn't been a single incident involving him, beyond those initiated by the tenants themselves.

He dutifully spent his days making the repairs to the inn as he was supposed to, with results worthy of a professional carpenter. Interaction with the older girls was kept to a minimum after the whole hot springs and stalking incident, and Emiya himself had never readdressed the issue, just like he said.

The meals were the only times of the day he passed with all of his tenants, and he spent them in conversation with Shinobu, mainly about about food and spices. The younger girl was obviously smitten with the only male around but Emiya hadn't shown any overt intention of taking advantage of the younger girl's trust.

All in all, he acted like a pretty person with no trace of malicious intention. Motoko had never caught him staring at something he shouldn't or speaking with anything less than perfect politeness.

It was driving Motoko mad. Day after day she had waited for him to make one single wrong move, one, and remove him from the Hinata via Ki Airlines. Needless to say, such an event had never come to pass, and the pent up agressiveness inside the swordswoman was beginning to erode her from the inside.

She needed to release her frustrations but simply letting her ki flow out wouldn't do a thing, so she would have to either follow up on her initial intention and blast Emiya into Low Earth Orbit or cross blades with a skilled opponent.

For a moment she considered taking a trip back to Kyoto to challenge her sister to a spar, but she immediately discarded that thought. She wasn't ready yet to go back and she had no intention of dealing with the rest of her clan at the moment.

Problem was that, to her knowledge, there wasn't a single swordsman worthy of crossing blades with her in the entire city. Even her fellow members of the Kendo club weren't up to her level.

No, her only option was to be patient and release her anger by unleashing her ki to an imaginary target.

An imaginary target with red hair and golden eyes.

* * *

><p>Shirou suppressed a shiver when he felt the release of ki in the distance, shortly followed by the sound of an explosion. There was no doubt that the malicious intent he perceived was directed at him, even if he wasn't' the direct target of the swordswoman technique.<p>

A week had passed from the stalking incident and the three older girls had apparently decided to give him a little respite. Narusegawa spent the days studying at the library but that was understandable, considering the racket he made every day with his hammer.

Konno lazed about the entire day, but Shirou had never seen her with a bottle of sake out of her room, although it was clear she abundantly drank before coming out of her apartment. The first couple of days she had looked at him with some fear when they met in the corridors or in other common areas, but she soon understood that he wasn't about to bite her and returned to her normal, playful behavior.

Aoyama had made a point of keeping an eye on him as he went about his business as manager of the dorm, but never again overstepped her boundaries. Still, it was painfully obvious that she disliked him with a passion and was waiting for him to make the slightest mishap. For the time being, her plan had backfired on her if her increasing frustration was any indication.

He would have to watch out for her, in case she suddenly snapped out and went into frenzy.

Maehara was the least problematic of the lot, and she shared with a liking for cooking that provided a lot of common ground for conversation. She was a little on the timid side, but as the days passed she too became more relaxed in his presence. Having her around sure made residing at the Hinata-sou a lot more pleasant than it would have been otherwise.

There was, however, a new arising problem. Namely one foreigner girl that went by the name of Suu Kaolla.

When he had declared the repairs finished, at least until he cashed the following rent and purchased more materials, the tanned teenager held him to his word of playing with her.

It had been an… interesting experience, to say the least.

* * *

><p><strong><span>A few hours earlier<span>**

The thunderous sound of feet rushing in his direction was his first and only warning.

"Shirooooou! Let's play!" Suu shouted as she jumped and delivered a powerful flying kick to Shirou's face. Or at least she would have, if said red haired man hadn't caught her bare foot with his hand, slowing her down enough to get out of the way.

"Suu-san!" he exclaimed. "That was dangerous. You shouldn't jump around like that."

"Eeeh? I didn't expect you to dodge that. You're good, but I have more aces up my sleeve!"

With that she pulled a remote controller out of her pocket and pushed a button.

What followed could only be described as half an hour of absolute mayhem, as Shirou was chased out of the inn by robotic… things armed with long range earth-air missiles. What the hell was wrong with that girl?

He could have very well destroyed them, but breaking through metal with his bare hands would have required giving some kind of explanation. Furthermore it didn't look like the missiles were actually equipped with real explosives. Sure, they did a lot of flash and noise, but there was no shockwave when they went off, so he guessed it would be alright.

If anything, it provided an entertaining form of exercise. It wasn't every day that he had chance of having to dodge non-lethal attacks from seven different directions.

He ran in circles around the building, making a show of avoiding every missile by rolling out of the way at the last possible minute, until most of those machines ran dry of ammunition.

He was left a little short on breath, since he did everything without Reinforcing himself.

"Emiya-san! Are you all right?" Shinobu asked, rushing to his side.

"Anf! Yeah, I'm all right."

"But- but- but-"

"Seriously. I'm okay see? Not a scratch."

"Eeeh? You dodged them all?" Suu asked in mock disappointment.

"Yeah, though I have to admit there were a few close calls. Did you build all these things yourself, Suu-san?"

"Yup. The amazing Kaolla did it all by herself!"

"That's pretty impressive," Shirou admitted. "Say, I don't mind helping you test these things out as long as we don't do it inside the inn."

"But shooting missiles inside a closed space is funnier," she commented. "Wait, really? You really want to play with my toys?"

"Sure, I don't mind so long as we don't damage the building. I'd hate to do the repairs all over again."

"YAY! Kaolla has found a new playmate! Woooh!"

"Are you sure about this Emiya-san?" Maehara asked. "Kaolla's games tend to be a little…. excessive."

"I can tell," he replied, "but would telling her not to do it help anything?"

"…"

"That's what I thought. Besides it's a good variation on my usual exercising routine. And I really would prefer to not have her testing explosives inside the dorm."

"Yes… that would be for the best," Shinobu agreed with a sweatdrop. "But still, aren't you going to get hurt?"

"Nah. I'm sturdier than I look. That much shouldn't be a problem." … _'Hopefully'_

* * *

><p>And that was how he had found himself testing Kaolla's so called 'toys' a couple of times a day. It wasn't all that bad, save for the fact that the foreign girl still ambushed him with a flying kick every now and then before setting an armada of robots after him.<p>

At least there was no malice in her actions and he was grateful for that. He was slowly gaining the acceptance of his tenants, though it was an uphill battle.

Besides that, he had more pressing concerns. The initial exams were just a few weeks away and he had a lot of catching up to do if he wanted to get in Tokyo U.

Now that was another topic of concern. The Toudai was Japan's most prestigious university and being accepted there was not an easy task. However, it also offered the best courses in the entire nation, and someone who chased after an impossible dream couldn't do things half assed.

On another note he couldn't fall back on his _other studies_ either. Rin would strangle him if he disregarded his Thaumaturgy completely. Yes, that was another thing to deal with. He'd have to set up a workshop as soon as possible and have his stuff delivered at the inn.

But there was a complication to that. Hinata City had a leyline, therefore it stood to reason that there should be a Magus appointed by the Clock Tower to watch over the land. A _Second Owner._

Before thinking about starting his workshop he would have to find this person and ask for authorization. He could no longer play the card of ignorance as he did with Rin, back in Fuyuki. Not now that he was affiliated with the Clock Tower.

He'd have to call Rin in London and ask her to find the name of the Magus in question. First thing the next day he would try and get the name of this person. Hopefully there wouldn't be problems on that front.

xXx

"So," Rin began from the other end of the line, "are you sure?"

"Yeah," Shirou answered. He was currently calling from a public phone. It wasn't a good idea to discuss that sort of topic on a line that could be tracked back to him. "I checked everything with Rider. There isn't anything wrong with the inn itself or the tenants. They are an odd bunch, a little prone to overreact, but otherwise good people."

"Well then. I'm happy you aren't forgetting your studies. I'll find the name of the Magus and call you back by tomorrow. Is that fine?"

"Thank you, Rin. I appreciate the help. Business aside, how are things going over there? Is Zelretch giving you a hard time?"

"No more than usual, but that's okay. I don't think he wants to admit it, but I'm progressing faster than he had imagined."

"As expected from a genius," Shirou chuckled. "Soon you'll have the secrets of the Second Sorcery in your hands."

"Now you're making it sound too easy, fool. I still need a lot of time and resources before I can hope to reproduce the Jewel Sword, and that's the most basic tool related to Second Magic Zelretch created."

"Your point being? In any case, that means that you already have the skills and knowledge required to do it. How many other people besides your teacher can flaunt that? Heck, how many people would want to be around that man to begin with?"

"Not many, apparently. You and I were the only ones that didn't run away when he was around. And Waver too, but that man is as crazy as you are. I'd swear the both of you were absolutely screwed in the head by your Servants."

"Come on," he protested, "Waver isn't that bad."

"Maybe not as bad as you, but he's crazy in his own way. I wonder if it's a requirement to summon a King as a Heroic Spirit or a result of it. Hey, maybe I could present that theory to the Department of Spiritual Evocation…"

"I'm sure I can speak on Waver's behalf on this: neither of us would like being turned into study material."

"Oh? I don't recall you being against the idea when _I_ was the one studying you."

"Would you have listened to any protest I might have raised?"

"Probably not," she answered without a hint of shame and a good deal of amusement. "But I don't remember you complaining about the aftermath of our study sessions either."

"I- But- I mean," he stuttered, obviously embarrassed by the topic.

"Don't ever change, Shirou," she chuckled. "Now, as fun as this conversation was, I have to cut it short. I'll get in touch with you sometime tomorrow."

"Thank you, Rin," he said, having finally regained his composure. "I owe you one."

"Don't worry about it. Bye, Shirou."

"Goodbye, Rin."

* * *

><p><strong>The next day<strong>

Rin was true to her word, and not even twenty four hours later she had called him back with the name of the Magus on charge of the area.

Uncommonly enough for a Magus, the person in question worked as a professor of physics at Tokyo U. It was odd enough for a Magus to have a mundane employment, but then again Magi often squandered obscene amounts of money in their researches, so a source of stable income was needed. Furthermore, despite being Mundane, a university was still a place where knowledge of all sort gathered.

Perhaps Hinata City's _Second Owner_ specialized in a branch of Thaumaturgy that could profit from ordinary knowledge, thus getting two birds with one stone.

Shirou too was one of such Magi. Since he had begun creating his own swords he had taken an interest in mineralogy and chemistry, trying to come up with new alloys that could properly channel his Magecraft while still acting like functional swords.

Then again, he was probably a heretic when it came to a Magi's mindset. Modern time Magi scoffed at new discoveries and their researches weren't as focused on finding or creating new Magecraft but rather on rediscovering what had been lost through the ages.

Magi were a category of people who focused on the past, as was exemplified by the Einzbern family and their obsession with the Holy Grail.

On that note, it wasn't strange that Thaumaturgy was a declining art. As Shirou knew very well, trying to replicate something would only produce an inferior copy. That was one of the reasons why he had decided to develop new Mystic Codes instead of clinging to vestiges of the past. Of course, he would still use such vestiges in times of need, and the mysteries they held were a source of information he could reverse-engineer to apply in new creative ways.

As he pondered this he finally reached the house of the person he was looking for.

Much like Rin's house back in Fuyuki, the two story mansion in front of him was built in western style and was surrounded by a Bounded Field that impressed on unexpected visitors a sense of dread that would keep all but the most motivated from even ringing the bell.

Of course, such Field would never affect a trained Magus, therefore Shirou pressed the button besides the gate and waited. He had managed to book an appointment with the Magus' secretary. He didn't know how much privy to the existence of magic the woman who answered the phone was, so he opted to remain generic to the reason of his visit.

Luckily enough, the Second Owner didn't seem to be very busy outside of school and had no problem setting an appointment for that afternoon.

"Who is it?" A monotone voice, the same who answered the phone, asked from the speaker.

"I'm Emiya Shirou. I have an appointment with Professor McDowell."

"Yes, you are expected. Please come inside."

With a loud clank the gate snapped open and Shirou passed beyond it. The double oak door of the mansion opened, revealing a blonde woman in maid outfit.

Shirou froze at the sight. There was something familiar about that person; even if he was sure he never met her before. She had an aura of unnaturalness that was common to…

… to _Homunculi_.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Ah," Shirou said snapping out of his funk. "No, nothing at all. For a moment you reminded me of someone I know."

"I see. Come this way, please."

Shirou followed her inside, and she instructed him to wait in the lobby before disappearing in a door to the left.

As he waited, he made sure to keep his guard up. The Einzbern wasn't the only family of alchemists that could produce Homunculi, and this one looked a little too fake in his eyes to be a one of their making. Still, in the off chance that this person had a connection with Illya's family he would have to be ready for anything.

The Einzbern and Emiya didn't mesh well together, with the exception of Illya herself. The last time he had been in their European castle things hadn't gone exactly well. Not for the Einzbern anyway. They certainly harbored a grudge toward him that had nothing to do with Shirou's father and only Illya's iron fist kept the still living members from actively pursuing vengeance, but there was the possibility that they would try and get him by employing a third party.

… And here he was again looking for conspiracies where there were probably none. Seriously, did the naïve Shirou from before the War exist only because he had never really faced the ugliness of mankind? Was the bitter and disillusioned EMIYA his real character? The possibility alone was enough to give him a vague sense of nausea.

Luckily he was once more brought out of his gloomy train of thought by a new female voice from the top of the stairs.

"Emiya Shirou? I'm Evangeline McDowell. Welcome to my house. How can I help you?"

The slender woman on top of the stairs had long blonde hair and blue eyes. If her name wasn't enough to give it away, her appearance definitely proved that she wasn't Japanese or at the very least not entirely.

"Ah. There's a matter of importance that I'd like to discuss with you. Privately."

"Of course. Please follow me to my study. Chachamaru?"

Chachamaru, the Homunculus maid, reappeared from the same door where she had disappeared before.

"Yes, Mistress?"

"Please, serve tea for two in my study."

"Yes, Mistress."

Shirou followed the resident Magus to an inconspicuous study, filled with shelves and books. He gently closed the door behind him and took a seat in the chair she indicated him.

"So, Emiya-san, what did you want to talk about? You have been rather vague with my assistant about the reason for this meeting. You aren't one of my students, although I do remember seeing you on campus once. If you're looking for help to be accepted in Toudai, the best I can do is give you an advanced lesson."

"Ah, no. I mean, yes, I'm trying to get in Tokyo U., but that's not the reason for my visit." He took a breath to dispel the mood and turned serious. "I'm here to ask for your permission as Second Owner to set up a Workshop in your city."

The reaction of his host was immediate, if subtle. Her shoulders tensed and her eyes narrowed. Of course, being on her guard was the wisest choice. Magi weren't necessarily violent, but they still represented a level of threat superior to common people.

"This is unexpected, Emiya-san. Hinata City, while site of a powerful leyline, has never been a place of much interest to the Association. What is the real reason for your presence in this town?"

Her blue eyes pierced right through Shirou's. The red haired man had a hard time trying not to swallow loudly under her scrutiny.

"Believe it or not, McDowell-sensei, I'm here mostly because I wanted to enroll in Toudai."

"Is that so? Magi don't particularly care for mundane education. I suppose you got my name from the Clock Tower, therefore you must have access to their facilities. Why not study there?"

"I'm… a bit on the odd side as a Magus. I did spend a year at the Clock Tower but there's nothing more I can learn there that would be useful to the development of my Thaumaturgy. In fact, I believe that I can learn more from a mundane institution and Toudai is the best in the country."

"Indeed? Yet there are many towns nearby that are as close, if not closer, to the university than Hinata City. Why come to a place under the jurisdiction of another Magus?"

"I'm not an Emiya by birth," he explained. "I was adopted after I lost my parents in the aftermath of the Fourth Holy Grail," he watched McDowell raise both her eyebrows at that revelation. "Only recently I came to discover that I have still living relatives in this town. My reason to be live in Hinata City is to reconnect with my lost family. I also have been recently made owner of a property in this town, so it's natural that I would rather live here than somewhere else. I didn't know about this place's leyline until I effectively came here around a week ago."

"I see," she said with a pondering expression. "And where exactly is this property of yours?"

"It's the old inn turned dormitory on the east hill. The Hinata-sou."

The woman went through different subtle changes in expression at that information, from outraged to angry to resigned. Finally every sign of tension left her shoulders and she sagged slightly.

"You're an Urashima then. Sigh. I've wanted to buy that place for years now, but the old woman kept refusing my offers, saying that her grandson would inherit it someday. I was sure she was completely crazy, since I knew her only grandson was dead, but apparently I was mistaken."

Now it was Shirou's turn to be contemplative. Granny Hina hadn't sold the property because he would have to inherit it, but he was supposed to be dead as far as she knew. Had her resolve been caused by delusional stubbornness alone or had she known that he was alive before their first meeting at the airport?

"Still," the woman continued, "you won't mind if I double check your statements. There are a number of ways for a Magus to convince Mundanes to do their bidding, after all."

"Of course, take your time. If you need someone to vouch for me at the Clock Tower ask of Lord El-Melloi."

"Lord El-M… Waver?"

"You know him?"

"Ah! Do I, now? Fine, go ahead and start up your Workshop. If Waver trusts you enough to speak in your favor then you must be an alright person. Just leave me a number where I can call you safely and I'll give you confirmation by tomorrow."

"Sure," he said scribbling his mobile number on a slip of paper.

A knock on the door anticipated the entrance of the tea-serving maid. Shirou looked at her closely.

"I don't want to be rude," he said to the female Magus, "but is she a creation of yours?"

"You can tell that she's a Homunculus just by looking? You have good eyes, Emiya-san."

"Ah, no. It's just that I've seen plenty of them in the past few years."

"Really? There aren't that many alchemists knowledgeable enough to create human-like constructs like Chachamaru. Who were their crafters?"

"The Einzbern," he said with caution.

"Truly? The Einzbern? You are a man with important connections, Emiya-san. The Einzbern are the most renowned line of alchemists in Europe, maybe even the world. Their Homunculi are so humanlike that it's really difficult to tell the difference even for an expert. Why, they are so human that they have overthrown their owners and seized control of the entire family. I do recall hearing that their current Head waged an internal war with the help of the Second Magus Ki- Magus Ki- Magus Ki-," her face paled and she pointed a trembling finger in Shirou direction. "Magus Killer?"

"Yeah," Shirou chuckled sheepishly, scratching his head. "In my defense, most of those rumors are an exaggeration. In fact, more than supporting Illyasviel, I tried to hold her back. Frankly, if I wasn't there she probably would have slaughtered everyone. My little sister was a little resentful for the treatment and lies she received over the years."

"Little sis…," she rubbed her temples and slowly regained her composure. "Emiya-san, you're the oddest Magus I ever had the chance to meet."

"I told you as much, didn't I?"

"That you did," she conceded. "Anything else of importance that I should know about?"

"Not without divulging particulars about my Thaumaturgy. Oh, just in case you'd want to contact me at the Hinata-sou, please note that the tenants are not privy to the existence of Magecraft."

"You intend to set up your Workshop with Mundanes living nearby? That's pretty reckless."

"I can set up decent Boundary Fields and my mysteries aren't that explicit to begin with. Even if for some reason a mundane were to step into my Workshop, there would be nothing in there that would reveal the existence of Magecraft. In fact, even most Magi would have a hard time understanding my researches."

"How confident," she said over her cup of tea, but there was also a tone of curiosity in her voice. Magi usually didn't speak so freely about their researches. "Are your mysteries really that complex?"

"Not really. In fact, they are rather simple. However due to peculiar circumstances only I can use them efficiently. Anyone else would have a hard time making something useful out of my work."

"Is that the reason why you want to enroll in Toudai? What do you plan to study there, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I plan to major in Medicine and minoring in History," he explained. There was no reason to hide such knowledge, and she would eventually discover it by herself later on.

"That is an odd combination, to say the least. Oh well, I suppose you know what's best, so I won't pry."

"Thank you, McDowell –sensei."

They passed half an hour discussing about the Clock Tower and their common interest in mundane education. Finally, she dismissed Shirou with the promise of calling him the next day with the final confirmation of her authorization.

It was perfectly fine for him, seeing that most of his research material was still packed in boxes back in Fuyuki. He would have to phone Sakura and ask her to get them delivered. No, that would be impolite and she deserved better. Renting a small truck was a better idea. That way he could visit his family and move his stuff himself.

In the chaos following the discovery of his family, he hadn't had much time to spend with Sakura, and having spent the evenings with Rider for an entire week and over a year abroad with Rin, Sakura had been left to the side for a long time. Far too much in Shirou's opinion and that was a situation that he would have to rectify soon enough.

* * *

><p><strong><span>That evening<span>**

The dinner table was quiet as usual, save for the ever loud Suu.

"So you're leaving, Emiya-san?" Shinobu asked.

"Yes. Things have been hectic these past few weeks and I really didn't have any time to spend with my family when I returned from England. Spending the weekend back home sounds like a good idea. This is probably the last chance for a while, considering that I'm going to be busy with my job here and studying for my exams."

"By your family," Konno said between bites, "you mean the girls you lived with during high school?"

"Exactly. I've been travelling the world these past few years, so I've missed them quite a lot."

"I don't understand," Narusegawa said, for once with honest curiosity. "Why would these girls want to live with you in your house?"

"Indeed," Aoyama interjected. "It's really improper for males and females not related by blood to live under the same roof without adult supervision."

"I would normally agree with you Aoyama-san," Shirou said flatly, "but ours were particular circumstances. And to be completely honest, if any of us wanted to do something improper, living in different places wouldn't have made much of a difference. None of our legal guardians lived with us to begin with, so there wasn't much supervision in any case."

"How lucky of you, Shirou-kun," Konno chuckled. "Having four young girls all to yourself."

"Konno-san," Shirou spoke with a tone of reprisal, "while I consider myself lucky in having a loving family, as odd as it may be, the circumstances that brought us together were not pleasant at all."

"Hmpf," Aoyama scoffed. "I can hardly imagine what circumstances could have brought such a situation. If I was your guardian, I would have pulled you apart immediately. What is the world coming to?"

"Funny you'd say that, Aoyama-san. I was under the impression that there were important reasons for you to tolerate this forced cohabitation instead of returning to your own home or finding another place to live."

"It's not nearly the same thing," she said standing up. "My reasons-"

"Are your own," Shirou cut her off. "I have no right to judge them, so I won't. Please return the courtesy by not judging other people's circumstances without even knowing them."

"You…," she bit her lip, "you are right. I apologize for my outburst."

"No harm done," he said without a trace of resentment.

"Hey, Shirou-kun," Konno said. "Can I ask you something? If you missed your family so much, why did you leave in the first place?"

"…Because I made a promise that I had to keep at all costs," he said looking in her direction, but clearly not seeing at her.

"What kind of promise can send you across the world for years?"

"An important one," Shirou said with a smile.

"Ah ha ha," Konno mock laughed. "Fine, be all mysterious, why don't you? At least tell us who you made this promise to."

"To a woman I loved very much."

The answer was delivered as if it was a common statement, but no one missed the deep emotions laced in it.

Wisely enough, no one said another word on the topic. Even Kitsune realized that prying in such a private matter while being on barely speaking terms wouldn't have won her any points with the manager.

"If there's anything you need from me," Shirou said as he cleaned the table, "please tell me by tomorrow so that I can have it done before leaving."

He was met by a chorus of affirmative answers and he was left alone with Shinobu to clean the dishes.

* * *

><p>Shinobu was pensive the rest of the evening.<p>

'_To a woman I loved very much.'_

Of course she had never thought that Emiya-san couldn't have had a girlfriend in the past, but she also never once stopped to think about such a person.

He had spoken of her using the past tense.

Did he mean that he didn't love her anymore? Did they break up at some point? Did that woman send him across the world looking for something only to dump him as soon as she got what she wanted?

A vague sense of anger built up inside her. How could anyone take advantage of such a gentle person? If she was Emiya-san's girlfriend she would never, ever, do such a thing to him.

Heh. Emiya-san's girlfriend…

_**FWHOOSH!**_

Of course the slightest thought of being in such a relationship with her manager was enough to set her face violently aflame with embarrassment.

Of course it had to happen where said manager could easily see her.

* * *

><p>Shirou didn't know what to think. Was Shinobu feeling unwell? He watched her going through different expressions, from pensive to angry to… what the hell could make someone's face look THAT red?<p>

"Shinobu-san," he asked worriedly, "are you unwell? Your face is so…. red."

If possible, her face became even redder at his words.

"Auuu. I'm sorry…" she bowed with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry!" she bowed again; "I'm sorry!" she bowed once more.

With each and every bow she took several steps back until she turned a corner and disappeared out of his sight.

"…. Eh?"

There just wasn't anything else Shirou could have said to that.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Two days later<span>**

McDowell had called the previous day as promised and gave him the okay to set up his Workshop. With no reason to keep postponing it, he put his things at the dorm in order and prepared for the trip back to Fuyuki. He would ride his bike there and then rent a truck instead of doing it in Hinata. It was a two hour trip back to Fuyuki and he didn't mind at all riding all the way there.

Of course, if he knew beforehand what would have happened, he would have reconsidered his choice of travel methods.

"So you're going home by bike?" Konno asked after breakfast. "I didn't know you owned one."

"I left it at a friend's place, since the Hinata-sou doesn't have a garage. It's not far from here, but I'd better go out now if I want to be in Fuyuki at a decent hour."

At that moment Shinobu came through the door. She looked a little perplexed. "Ah, Emiya-san? There's a person at the door looking for you."

"A person looking for me? Who is it?"

"I- I don't know. She's wearing a helmet and she came here riding y- a bike."

Oh, no. Holy Mother of all that's good and pure, _please_ let it not be her.

Oh, who was he kidding? Of course it was her. He had left his bike with Rider, who had a room in a hotel in town.

And now she was here? Why?

Because she was going to return to Fuyuki with him, as they had agreed the previous evening, but he was supposed to go pick her up at her hotel, not the other way around. Why would she come here?

'_Because it's fun,'_ his brain answered for him in Rider's voice.

He started to move in the direction of the door, in the vain hope of preventing his tenants from seeing her.

Of course, his prayers were completely ignored.

Rider stepped inside the entrance wearing a full biker suit made of leather, completed with a full helmet that hid her face. The tight suit did nothing to hide her generous forms.

Shinobu and Konno eyed the newly arrived woman with suspicion. Of course they would. Who was this stranger who knew their manager?

"Hello, Rider," he said with a defeated tone.

She pulled the helmet off by opening the front part. It was the only way she could do such a thing without removing her glasses (and turning everyone into stone in the process).

Her long, luscious hair fell down almost to her feet, revealing a beauty that literally wasn't human.

"Hi, Shirou. Surprise! I came to pick you up."

"Yes, I can see that," he said. _'You devil,'_ he added in his mind. "Thank you. That's nice of you."

"Don't mention it," she waved him off with a way too amused smile.

"A-Ah, Shirou-kun," Konno stuttered, "who is this person?"

"Right," he sighed, "I suppose introductions are in order. Rider this is Konno Ki- Mitsune-san and Maehara Shinobu-san. "

"P-Pleased to meet you," Shinobu said half-shocked, half-awed.

"Y-Yeah," Konno said. "Same here."

"Likewise," Rider answered politely.

"Yes, yes," Shirou said hastily. "Now we _really_ should go."

"Oh my," Rider chuckled. "What's the hurry, Shirou? Since I came to pick you up, we gained at least half an hour."

"Still…," he protested.

"Besides I feel a little thirsty. Would you mind getting me something to drink before we leave?"

"Oh," Shinobu said snapping out of her funk. "Would you like to come inside? I have some fresh juice if you'd like some."

"That would be wonderful, thank you."

And just like that she followed Shinobu into the living room, leaving behind a resigned Shirou.

'_Must. Not. Facepalm.'_

That was the Tohsaka Lesson number one. No matter how idiotic or messed up a situation may turn out to be, never give anyone the satisfaction of seeing you facepalm.

In any case he had to run damage control now. Good God, thankfully both Aoyama and Narusegawa had already left to attend to their own businesses.

He could still turn the situation into a disaster, as opposed to the catastrophe it would have been if those two were still here.

Thank the Gods for small miracles, right?

* * *

><p>AN: So here's another chapter. Little by little I'm going to explain Shirou's motives for wanting to attend Tokyo U. and also what he did in the years abroad.<p>

I have been pointed out that I've made a mistake in how Kanshou and Bakuya worked in the last chapter, so I went back and corrected it. I still took some liberties with the Married Blades, but nothing that should be in open contrast with their canonical abilities.

I also put a Negima cameo, but like I said, beside appearance and maybe a little background, there will be nothing in common with their original counterpart.

Evangeline is NOT a Dead Apostle this time around, though much like Rin she could have a vampire somewhere in her ancestry. She will eventually have a little spotlight, along with Chachamaru, but nothing major,

Well, that's all for the time being. Next chapter, a little trolling courtesy of Rider and a trip back home.

Thank you for reading!


	7. The way home

**Chapter 7 – The way home  
><strong>(Published: 08.11.12- Beta: Sperance )

* * *

><p>Threat.<p>

That term alone encompassed the woman known as Rider in Kitsune's perspective.

Where had this woman come out from? A fashion magazine?

Kitsune was by no stretch of the imagination an unattractive woman, but that 'Rider' causally sitting at the kitchen table was enough to make her feel inadequate about her appearance.

There was also something familiar about her, something that made the resident fox feel threatened by her presence. She had the feeling she had seen her before, but couldn't for the life of her recall where or when.

It was probably just an impression, she concluded. Fact remained that this total babe was invading her turf without a care. That wouldn't do. She might not be at her level in appearance alone, but she had experience and an outgoing personality that could definitely charm any man.

She had to be careful, though, and not act rashly. She didn't know what Shirou's relationship with Rider was and any maneuver could potentially backfire. Still, she could use the situation to find out more about her manager.

"So, Rider-san," she began as she approached the chair where she was seated, "have you and Shirou-kun known each other for long?

"You could say that," she replied cheerfully."Shirou and I have been friends for a few years now."

Oh? Were they really just friends or was she purposely downplaying their relationship?

"You aren't Japanese, are you?" Kitsune observed. "Where are you from? The States? Did you meet Shirou-kun in one of his travels?"

"No and no. I'm from Greece but I met Shirou a few years ago when I came to Japan for a personal matter. It shouldn't have taken more than two weeks, but then I met him and never wanted to leave again."

H-how bold of her to say something like that so casually…

"Rider...," the manager said with a warning tone. Both women ignored him completely.

"So, you two must be pretty close. Say, how was he when he was younger?"

"Well, he was still in high school when we first met, so he was a little brash and hotheaded, but even back then he was the gentlest soul around. We didn't exactly meet under the best circumstances but even then he still helped me out a lot."

"Helped out with what?"

"Oh, this and that. Nothing important, really."

"I see," she replied, obviously not fooled by her dismissal on the importance of Shirou's help, but new better than to force the issue. "So you've been staying in Hinata City all this time? Funny, I frequent many places in town but never once heard about a foreigner that looked like you, and trust me, men would talk about that."

"Oh no, you got it all wrong. I just happened to have business here in Hinata at the same time as he did. I usually live at Shirou's place in Fuyuki."

"Rider..."

"Wait, wait, wait! So you are one of the girls who live with him?" Rider nodded. "Seriously?"

Well, crap. That was a major setback. When Shirou had said that he lived with four women Kitsune had imagined four, plain looking girls, not a foreigner that looked like she had just walked out of a fashion magazine. What kind of chance did she have of overcoming four years under the same roof with him, while being less attractive than her?

With effort, that's how. Just because they lived in the same place didn't necessarily mean anything. No matter how she looked, if Rider hadn't put the moves on him, then she could still turn his head around.

"Exactly," Rider continued, "Shirou graciously offered me a place to say when my permanence in this country became indefinite."

"Eh, that must have been odd, living with a guy all that time being just friends. You know, without having a relationship. Then again, Shirou-kun is pretty harmless."

"Absolutely," Rider confirmed with a smile. "Shirou would never touch a woman without an open invitation from her."

"I know, right?"

They both shared a laugh while Shinobu served the juice. Rider took a sip and then smiled.

"Then again, Shirou was never one to lack that sort of invitations."

_**KA-CLANG!**_

Shinobu's empty tray clattered loudly on the ground. Kitsune imagined that her own jaw would have made a similar sound if it wasn't hinged to the rest of her face.

This woman… Had this woman just openly admitted that they did… did….? Or was she just implying that Shirou had an active sexual life?

"Enough with the jokes, Rider," Shirou cut in. "Seriously, that's enough."

Shirou's voice had nothing of the usual joviality. It wasn't angry or annoyed but it was clear that he didn't like the way the conversation was going.

"Sigh. You're just too serious sometimes, Shirou. You should learn to have some fun every once in a while."

"Not at the expense of my tenants, I won't," he retorted picking up the tray. "Besides, I would rather not divulge the details of my private life to everyone in hearing range."

"Right," Rider said without a trace of guilt, tapping her lips with her index finger. "You were never one to kiss and tell. Sorry, I forgot."

"I'm sure you did," Shirou commented on Rider's excuse sarcastically and more than a little resignedly. "I'm going to take my stuff. I'll be back in a minute."

"Sure," she replied happily as she stood.

The following movement happened too fast for anyone to react.

* * *

><p>Shinobu was frozen on the spot, her brain caught in a thousand different thoughts.<p>

Emiya-san was a man, an adult and an attractive one at that. It wasn't unusual that he had a lover, right? After all he admitted himself that he had someone he had been in love at some point.

Was this Rider the person in question? She definitely had the look down squat. No arguing with that. Yet Emiya-san looked rather uncomfortable around her.

Could it be that she was really the woman for whom he had travelled the world, only to have his feelings rebuffed when he came back?

And now that he had finally started a new life away from her, she came to claim him back.

No. For the life of her, Shinobu wouldn't allow such a thing. Emiya-san was too much of a gentle soul for her to permit such a treachery to continue. She would save him from this shrew of a woman no matter what.

Yes, that was all good and fine, but how was she going to do that?

As she contemplated this, the unthinkable happened.

* * *

><p>Shirou only had time to widen his eyes in surprise when Rider's hand shoot out and grabbed him for the collar of his shirt, pulling him forward. Had he realized his intention a fraction of second earlier he could have twisted his way out of her grasp, but right now, the only thing he could do was prepare himself to deal with the consequences.<p>

Rider mouth clamped on his and he barely registered the sharp intake of breath from the other two witnesses. There was no chance for him to struggle as Rider let him go a moment later, her mission fully accomplished.

"I'll wait for you outside with the bike," she said as she turned around to leave. She practically purred the following sentence. "Don't make me wait too long."

Despite knowing it was just a ruse to upset the others, Shirou couldn't help but gulping loudly as she left with an extra sway to her hips.

Looking at his sides, Shirou grumbled and ruffled his hair. "Well then, I'd better get my stuff," he said as she left for his room.

Five minutes later he passed through the kitchen again on his way out, and the situation was pretty much the same.

Petrifaction.

It could only be described as such. Both Shinobu and Mitsune were standing with their mouth agape and eye wide. The coloration of both their body and clothes was a dull gray and Shirou could swear he could see some cracks forming here and there.

He sighed again. Things should get back to normal on its own, so he might as well take this chance to leave while they were still out for the count.

"I'll be back by tomorrow evening," he said saluting the duo. "Take care of yourselves in my absence."

Without looking back he sprinted out of the building and down the set of stairs that led to the main road. He definitely didn't want to be around his tenants right now. That would be too embarrassing.

"That was fast," Rider chuckled as she half sat on the bike.

"You're a devil, Rider," Shirou said, sounding again more resigned than angry. He was way too much used to the gorgon's antics.

"Yup," Rider confirmed. "Making fun of Shirou is the best form of entertainment, after all."

"Right," he grumbled. "How could I forget? Never mind that. Let's just go. The sooner we are back in Fuyuki the better."

"Hm-Hm," Rider agreed. "Do you miss Sakura that much?"

"Yeah. I didn't have much time to talk with her before this whole mess started. A couple of days to catch up sounds good."

"Yes, Sakura would definitely like that. Let's go, Shirou."

"Rider," Shirou sighed. "I'm driving."

"Mou, Shirou," Rider pouted. "This is a bike, not a car. You _ride_ it, not _drive_ it."

"You know perfectly well what I mean, Rider. I take the front."

"Shirou is a big meanie," she fake cried, but she left him the front place nonetheless.

"I don't mean to question your motorbike riding skills," duh, "but I still blame this white hair on the last time I rode behind you. I don't plan to lose any more years of my life."

"That's a bit harsh, Shirou."

"Think what you like, but I'm not riding behind you even if my life depends on it."

And with that final decision they both left in direction of their hometown.

* * *

><p>"That shameless woman," Kitsune raged as soon as her mind snapped out of her funk. Shinobu was still petrified, though. "Coming to my house, stealing my spotlight and my prey. If it's a challenge she's looking for that's exactly what she'll get. Shinobu!"<p>

"Y-Y-Yes?!" said girl asked, breaking the mind-freezing.

"Operation _'Snatch Shirou away from the snake-woman'_ is officially on the go. Are you going to assist me?"

A fire ignited in the younger girl's eye as she realized the meaning behind Kitsune's words.

"Yes, Kitsune-senpai! Let's save Emiya-san."

Well, Kitsune didn't exactly know what Shirou had to be saved from in Shinobu's perspective, but so long as the girl was willing to help she was fine with it.

"Perfect, then. Information gathering is the first step. Let's check his room for anything important."

"B-but," she stuttered, already losing her motivation, "isn't that what Emiya-san prohibited us to do?"

"It's not the same thing," she shook her head. "This is for his well-being."

And her pride. No way would she allow anyone to brazenly stroll in her turf and steal away both her role as seductress and her target in one go.

Three fouls in one sitting wasn't something she could overlook. Extreme countermeasures were needed. She would seduce Shirou into a puddle and he wouldn't even remember knowing a Rider in the first place.

Mitsune Konno was on the warpath. Everyone would better watch out.

* * *

><p><strong>Fuyuki City<strong>

The familiar outline of his hometown was getting closer by the minute.

'_How nostalgic.'_

He had been away for a long time, and upon his return he didn't have time to look at the scenery. It frankly didn't hold a candle to Hinata City, but it was the place he grew up in, the place where he met the most important people in his life so far.

The place where he had fought the hardest for his ideals.

The place where he had fallen in love.

The place where he had lost that love.

The place where he had found a family again.

So many things had been lost and so many had been gained. No matter how far away he went, this particular place would always hold a special place in his heart.

Perhaps sensing his emotions, Rider tightened her hold on his waist a little more.

The bike took them through familiar streets and crossroads, and in the blink of an eye they were back in their neighborhood and the sturdy gates of the Emiya household welcomed them as if they had never left.

They dismounted and removed their helmets, tranquilly pushing the bike inside the walls.

It was good to be back.

"We're home!" they both announced as they stepped inside the silent building.

Rushed footsteps could be heard going their way and a moment later the figure of a purple haired girl stood in the entranceway.

Sakura.

The years had been kind with her. In the aftermath of the Holy Grail War, Sakura had learned to deal with her nightmares and it showed on her face. Her already generous figure had reached the beauty of adulthood, shaping a woman that could be described as breathtaking, both in appearance and character.

"SenpaI!" she cried as she ran to welcome him. She stopped just a few steps short of hugging him, her usual shyness coming into play. Shirou too had his arms open wide until he realized what he was about to do and promptly closed them.

"Jeez, you two," Rider sighed. "There's nothing wrong with hugging each other, you know."

Shirou snorted. It was true that in the year following the war they all had gotten pretty _close _to each other but for the next four years he had scarcely been home. Was it wrong for him to assume that things had changed between them?

Apparently, it was, because he soon found Sakura's arms around him, crushing his body in a hug that almost broke his ribs. Time and distance apparently weren't enough to dull certain bonds. Especially not those forged in the flames of war, despair and everything that followed.

"I'm home Sakura," he said, finally returning the embrace.

"Welcome home, Senpai."

They remained like that for a minute that seemed to stretch for an eternity. Until Rider coughed loudly in discomfort.

Sakura laughed. "Welcome home, Rider," she greeted as she released Shirou. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"

"We wanted it to be a surprise," Rider explained. "Poor Shirou wanted to return so bad that he got up before dawn."

"Rider," Shirou sighed, "will you ever stop teasing me?"

"Hmm," she pondered, "no."

"Thought so."

"Ah, don't just stand there Senpai. Come on in. Make yourself…," she smiled, "make yourself at home."

"Thanks, Sakura. I will. I have a lot of things to tell you about."

* * *

><p><strong>An hour later<strong>

Shirou explained the details of his current living and working arrangement to his longtime friend. She already knew the gist of it, but Shirou took the chance to explain the details.

To say that Sakura wasn't happy that he would spend the better part of the year under the same roof with several beautiful girls would be a gross understatement, but in the end it was the best solution, as it wrapped into one living, working and reconnecting with his family.

"Hmm," Sakura pouted, "Senpai always ends up surrounded by young, good looking girls. Is he doing it on purpose?"

"Hm," Rider agreed, "I thought so too. Shirou is such a womanizer."

"O-oi, you two," Shirou sweat-dropped, "I'm sitting right here. Don't talk about me as if I wasn't present."

"There is this one girl," Rider continued ignoring him, "that definitely has a crush on him. I'm sure he hasn't even realized it."

"Rider, what are you talking about?"

"I suppose that would be the case," Sakura conceded. "Senpai doesn't notice that kind of things until they hit him square in the face."

"Yeah, she's a bit young for his tastes, anyway," Rider observed, "Unless Illya actually managed to convert him to the wonders of loli, as she promised she would."

"Wait, Illya said _what_?"

"Oh, no. Senpai would never fall that low. He's already dating three women at the same time. If he goes any farther than that, he would really become the scum of the world."

"Oi, oi, oi. Sakura. That's a bit too much."

"I wouldn't worry about that," Rider explained. "The real enemy is this vixen who has set her eyes on him. I'm telling you, Sakura, she definitely wants a piece of him."

"Would you please stop ignoring me?"

"I don't like the sound of that," Sakura frowned, and the shadows in the room seemed to become a little darker and a strange mark began crawling its way up her neck. "Perhaps I should have a word with this girl."

"No!" Shirou and Rider shouted all of a sudden. That was definitely a situation to avoid.

"Aw. Too bad," she smiled. "Jokes aside, Senpai, are you sure you're going to be alright?"

"Yes. As far as I can tell there's nothing to be worried about. Besides actually getting along with the tenants, I mean, but that's a work in progress. Given a bit of time things should be fine."

Looking at him smiling, Sakura and Rider sighed at the same time. Yup, no way Shirou wouldn't manage to get along with a group of girls, given enough time. In fact, they actually feared that by the end of his permanence in Hinata, they would have to pry them off him with a crowbar.

Well, either that or having to save him from them as they tried to beat his selfless idiocy out of him. He was both that adorable and that insufferable at the same time. He could drive a sane person crazy or a crazy person sane.

There wasn't much to do about that, though. Emiya Shirou wasn't an existence that one could simply meet and then be done with it.

Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening startled them out of their conversation. Hurried footsteps could be heard coming closer, and Shirou had the feeling that a wild beast had just entered his home.

"Sakura," Taiga shouted pulling the door open, "I saw the bike in front of the house and… and… Shirou?"

Shirou stood, watching the woman who had been his sister in all but blood since he was a kid stare at him with watery eyes.

"Shirouuuuuuu~" she ran at him with tears in her eyes and jumped in his embrace, throwing her own arms around his neck…

… and then promptly kneed him in the stomach, with all the strength provided by her toned legs and the forward momentum from her run.

"GWHOARGH!" Shirou protested as he doubled over, falling on the floor with eyes bulging out of his head.

"You bastard," Taiga growled stomping on his fallen form. "On top of messing around with three maidens' hearts, you disappear abroad for years and when you come back you don't even greet your nee-san before leaving again? I didn't raise you to be such a heartless bastard!"

"Ghghgh!" Shirou agreed, clutching his stomach. Or perhaps he wasn't agreeing at all. It was hard to tell, what with his eyes going white and his mouth beginning to foam.

"F-Fujimura-sensei," Sakura intervened, "perhaps that's a bit too harsh."

"Not at all, Sakura-chan," Taiga objected with a smile while she kept kicking him. "I need to beat the sleaziness out of him while I have the chance."

"Scary," Rider said quietly while keeping her distance from the enraged teacher. No way would she put herself between her and Shirou. Besides, the redhead actually deserved at least some of that, and it wasn't like he would suffer permanent damage or something.

In fact….

"Cut it out, Fuji-nee!" Shirou roared finally jumping back on his feet. The suddenness of his movement reversed their position and Taiga found herself sitting on the floor looking up at him.

"Weee" she wept, "Shirou is so violent. Where did I go wrong with him?"

"You're one to talk," he huffed, apparently no worse for wear. "We haven't seen each other in months and the first thing you do is kick me? It's a wonder why I didn't grow up to be as violent as you."

"Mou, Shirou is a meanie."

The redhead sighed and ruffled his hair. There was no way he could ever win against her.

"I'm glad to see you've been fine, Fuji-nee," he finally settled to say.

"Eh-eh," the woman laughed jumping back on her feet, immediately striking a pose with her hands on her hips and her nose stuck up in the air. Her ability to switch between moods was out of this world. "Even without Shirou, the amazing Fujimura Taiga would never lose a beat. What, did you think I would be lost without you?"

"…. No, I would never think that of you, Fuji-nee."

"Oi, what was that moment of pause you had just there?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said looking everywhere but at her.

She angrily raised her shaking fist. It was all the warning he had, and he capitalized it to its fullest by turning around and bolting out of the room.

"Shirou, come back here and take your punishment like man!"

Sakura and Rider shared a heartfelt laugh as they watched the older woman chase the redhead running in circle in the garden.

It was good to be home.

* * *

><p><strong>That evening<strong>

Unpacking his stuff from London and repacking what he needed to take with him to Hinata took less than he expected. With that out of the way, Shirou took the chance to cook for his family, much to Taiga's delight.

The quiet atmosphere on his house was reminiscent of the days a few months after from the War, when everyone finally managed to find a new balance in their lives. Only Rin and Illya were missing to make the group complete, but there was no way around that.

Considering everyone's schedules it was pretty hard to have everyone in the same place unless planned a long time in advance. In all likelihood that wouldn't happen at least until winter and that was only if nothing urgent came by at the Einzbern estate or at the Clock Tower.

Of course, since they all began living together, Shirou had never deluded himself that things would just continue like that. Tohsaka wanted to study in London under the tutelage of the Wizard Marshal, and Shirou had Illya's problem to take care of in addition to his promise to Saber.

Saber…

He brought a hand to his chest in remembrance. Even if the feeling of warmth that _they_ brought to him was a constant reminder of his accomplishments, Shirou still had a hard time believing what had happened in England. Yet, he had tangible proof of that meeting right there inside him.

Still he had a lot of unanswered questions. The true meaning behind the whole encounter was still a mystery to him.

Or was it?

"Senpai?" Sakura called entering the kitchen. "Do you need a hand washing the dishes?

"Ah. No you don't need to trouble yourself with this Sakura."

"It's no trouble at all Senpai. I'd love to help."

She grabbed a towel and began drying the plates while Shirou continued his task.

They worked in comfortable silence like a well-oiled machine. Old habits kicked in easily and after a few minutes all the dishes were almost completely washed. Everything went without a hitch until in the process of passing a plate to the other, their hands together.

They stared at each other as if the unexpected contact took them by surprise in entirely new manner.

Sakura smiled and grabbed his hand firmly, drawing circle on its back with her thumb. As response he drew her closer and circled her waist with his arm. She offered no resistance and they remained like that for a minute before returning to their task.

Not a word was exchanged the entire time.

* * *

><p><strong>Hinata Inn<strong>

"We can't tell anyone," Kitsune hissed at Shinobu.

"Why, Kitsune-san? What's wrong with telling Naru-senpai and Motoko-senpai about Emiya-san's girlfriend?"

"Tsk, tsk," she chided. "You're too naïve, Shinobu-chan. Naru and Motoko don't like Shirou-kun all that much. In fact they would do anything to get rid of him. What if they convinced that woman that Shirou shouldn't stay here with so many girls? She looked like the bossy type."

Shinobu gasped. "You mean to say that she would force him to leave?"

"Hm," Kitsune nodded. "Jealousy is a powerful motivator. We must be subtle with this. The less people know about our plan the better."

"I understand. I'll keep it to myself."

"Good girl."

The gears in Kitsune's head had kept turning the entire day. Shirou's room was pretty much empty. No personal belongings except for a few changes of clothes. It wasn't surprising seeing how he moved there on an extremely short notice, but she still hoped to find something that would reveal something more about the new manager.

Character-wise, it was pretty clear that he was an overall nice person but not someone you could mess with easily, yet they knew too little about him to determine which his real predisposition was.

Their search was fruitless, but Kitsune wouldn't certainly give up so easily, not when her pride was at stake.

Recruiting Shinobu to her cause was the most first important step to reach her goals. It was painfully obvious that the younger girl had a crush on Shirou, which wasn't surprising considering her lack of interaction with any boy outside of school and with the manager's level of kindness and attractiveness.

In different circumstances Kitsune could have regarded Shinobu as competition, but she was still a minor and lacked any kind of confidence to make Shirou's head turn. However she was also one of the only girls who had still to tick Shirou off, so she could get closer without him being suspicious.

She would be her Trojan horse in her quest to conquer Shirou. She managed to refrain from crackling evilly, just a moment before Naru opened the door to the kitchen and gazed upon the duo with suspicion in her eyes.

"What are you two plotting about?" She asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Plotting? Whatever do you mean Naru-chan. Me and lil' Shinobu here are just having a talk between women."

Shinobu nodded frantically in confirmation but didn't dare look Naru in the eyes.

"Right," Naru drawled. "Shinobu, would you mind leaving the two of us alone for a moment?"

"No problem Senpai," she answered and scampered off, happy to have avoided a confrontation.

"What's this about Naru?" Kitsune asked when the door was closed again.

"I should ask you that, Kitsune, but I don't need to. You're planning to do something with the manager, right?"

"Whatever gave you that impression?"

"I've known since forever Kitsune. I can read it on your face when you're plotting something."

"Fine," she sighed. "What if I am?"

"I can't tell you what to do or not to do, but if you can accept advice from an old friend you'd better give up on that idea."

"What? You never had any problem before when I swindled other men. What's the deal now?"

"Motoko and I talked earlier. We don't like the new manager."

"That's surprising news, now," Kitsune chuckled.

"I'm serious, Kitsune. He gives us a bad vibe. There's something about him that unsettles me."

"More than usual?"

"Yes. It's not just because he's man. I have this feeling that he's hiding something big. Call it a woman's intuition if you will."

"Hmm…" Kitsune pondered. "Tell you what. I'm not in any hurry to put my hands on him. Let's see how this forced cohabitation goes before jumping to conclusions, okay? Besides I know exactly how to deal with dangerous men."

"I'm just worried about you, Kits. And Shinobu-chan too. Don't go dragging her in one of you convoluted schemes. "

"Ah ah ah, come on. I'm not going to put little Shin-chan in danger, okay? Besides, I have the feeling that our new manager is not that bad. We just need to learn how to handle him."

"And I'm guessing you know exactly how to go about that, right?"

"Well, you _do_ know me, after all."

They both laughed.

"Fine," Naru conceded. "But if I ever catch wind of him doing something improper under this roof I'll beat him to a pulp. Got that?"

"Aww. You're so sweet Naru-chan."

"Quit teasing me!" Naru protested.

"Now, what fun would there in that?"

* * *

><p><strong>Emiya household<strong>

Later that night the foursome sat on the veranda, drinking sake at Taiga insistence.

"This is not fair, Shirou!" The tiger spirited woman cried. "Losing your purity with somebody else besides your nee-san is cruel."

To her dismay Shirou had already acclimated himself with alcohol while abroad, stealing from her the chance of taking his '_first time'_ for herself.

"Fuji-nee," he sighed. "Please don't say out loud things that could be easily misunderstood."

"Besides," Rider snickered, "you're a few years too hhhmp—"

"That goes for you too Rider," Shirou reprieved as he placed a hand in front of her mouth.

The gorgon mock glared at him but relented her teasing, not so much for Shirou's sake but because of the glare Sakura was directing at her.

It wasn't like she wanted to be reminded that she hadn't been his first.

"Anyway," the teacher continued. "Let's have a toast to Shirou being back in Japan indeterminately. Kanpai!"

They toasted and drunk and again, sharing sake and stories from the months past. For all her bravado Taiga was the first who fell under the sweet claim of alcohol induced sleep, leaving the younger trio to bask in the summer breeze.

Shirou's hand found Sakura's again, but this time it was no accident. Perhaps it was the influence of the alcohol, perhaps it was the long time spent in faraway lands, but the need for contact with his kohai was almost like a physical pull.

Reading the mood Rider took one last sip of sake before standing up.

"I'll bring Taiga's home before her grandfather's men come looking for her," she declared scoping up the limp form of said woman with ease. She wobbled a little and Shirou worried that she would trip and fall, but she immediately steadied her pace and disappeared without another word leaving the still drinking couple behind.

After a few more minutes spent by looking at the sky Shirou finally let go his hold on Sakura's hand and stood.

"I should go to bed as well. Tomorrow I plan to settle some business in town before leaving again. Perhaps we can have lunch outside for a change. Just the two of us."

"I'd like that Senpai," Sakura nodded with a smile as she mimicked his actions.

Shirou walked her all the way to her room, even if his own was closer.

"Well then, goodnight Sakura," he said as she opened the door to her room.

"… Goodnight Senpai."

He was about to turn and leave when something pulled him back.

Holding his hand with both her own, Sakura stared into his eyes without speaking a word. They remained like that for a moment, listing to each other increasing heartbeat where their hands were joined. Finally as if he had shredded the last remnants of uncertainty, Shirou took a step forward and walked inside, closing the door behind him.

xXx

Everything that Sakura wasn't in life, she was in intimacy.

Confident, aggressive, demanding, possessive.

She held nothing back. She gave everything and took everything back, with interests.

Not that Shirou minded in the slightest. He matched her passion and needs with his own, desperately clinging to her presence as much as she did with him.

Damaged goods, that's what they were. So deeply broken that being completely repaired just wasn't possible. Certain wounds healed but never truly faded.

People like him, made of those scars a way of life.  
>People like her needed them as a reminder that they were no longer alone.<p>

Reaching out to each other like crutches.  
>Seeking each other's warmth to confirm that in spite of everything, they were still alive.<p>

Drowning every fear, every doubt and every nightmare in the sweet nectar of physical and emotional closeness.

Replacing their tears and sobs with beads of sweat and moans of pleasure, they gave each other the comfort and affection they needed, until thirst and hunger were sated completely, at least for a while.

"Senpai," she moaned again while his body pressed over and inside her.

"Sakura," he replied as wrapped herself tighter around him in every possible way.

Their bodies shook as one under the blissful pleasure of mutual release.

He didn't mind her nails digging into his back with enough strength to draw blood, as much as she didn't pay any mind to the weight of his body lay entirely upon hers.

Their remained like that for a time. Completely spent but still connected in a way that went deeper than just mere physical contact.

Slowly her hold on him turned into a tender hug, while their breath steadied to a normal pace.

"I missed you," they said at the same time, only to stare at each other incredulously and then bursting into barely contained laughter.

"I'm glad that you came back," she confessed wiping a tear of mirth from her eye.

"I'm glad to be back," he admitted.

"Are you going to stay in Japan this time?" She asked snuggling into his chest.

"For a while, yes. I don't exclude the possibility of making a few trips abroad, especially since we are all so spread out, but no matter how far I go this place will always be home."

"You're still going to live elsewhere," she pouted without too much conviction.

"It's only just about an hour away, you know. You can come and visit anytime, and I'll do the same every time I'll have a chance."

"Promise?"

"Of course," he nodded.

"Pinky promise?" She asked sticking out the aforementioned finger. He chuckled but wrapped his own finger around hers nonetheless.

"Pinky promise," he agreed.

"I'm happy that you haven't changed that much Senpai," she admitted. "I was scared that you would be different since you stayed away for so long."

"Hm," he acquiesced. "Things out there are uglier than I thought they would. I can understand why Archer became who he was but… I don't think I could ever become like him. Not while consciously knowing what's at the end of that path. And especially not while I have somewhere to return to."

"That's a relief," she admitted, closing her eyes.

Shirou watched her breath becoming slower and slower, until it was obvious she had fallen asleep.

Without a word he pulled up the blanket and covered them both, before settling himself for a night of dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>The following morning passed in a blur of activity and Shirou didn't have time to go into town until late.<p>

Walking down the road with a package under his arm, the red haired Magus reminisced the first time he went down the particular road and all the thing that followed.

It was a very different situation back then and there was a very different person waiting for him.

No, wait. She wasn't all that different from her predecessor, character wise. In fact he would have been hard pressed in finding two people who resembled each other more than them.

Thrice damned DNA.

He didn't look forward to that encounter, but he had to return the thing he borrowed five year before. If that meant an unpleasant meeting the so be it.

With that in mind he walked up the hill until the white building was in sight.

Kotomine's church. Now that was a place he would have gladly avoided for the rest of his life. Even though the resident priest had changed, and the tortured souls in the basement had been freed, he couldn't help but reminisce the chill that he felt when he first visited.

Pushing the creaking door open he stepped inside the church, empty as it usually was.

At the altar, a single woman was kneeling in front of the holy cross obviously in prayer.

It was oddly disturbing how she took her churchly duties seriously while having a mean streak worthy of her deceased father.

The father that he had personally killed, by the way.

As if sensing his presence, the nun stood and turned toward him.

"Welcome in the house of God, Emiya Shirou," she greeted with a smile that was all too reminiscent of her father. " I admit I didn't foresee your arrival."

"It was sort of a spur of the moment to be honest. How have you been, Ortensia-san?"

"By grace of the Almighty, remarkably well. This city is remarkably calm without the tainted Grail, save for the occasional spirit that wanders here attracted by the leyline."

"That's a relief. This place has seen enough deaths as it is. Hopefully with the Grail gone there won't be any problems that you and Sakura can't handle."

"You don't have to worry about such things. As the Church representative in charge of this area I will not allow any harm to befall its people. However…"

"… What?"

"Now that such a womanizer is back in town I should perhaps worry about the purity of every female around here."

Everything about her amused expression and posture was similar to her late father, minus the obvious malice that Kotomine Kirei seemed to exude every time he twisted the metaphorical knife in the equally metaphorical wound.

"Eurgh," Shirou replied with a blush, fully getting to what she was referring to. He always kept his relationship under wrap, but Caren was a receptive individual and, much like her deceased parent, absolutely capable of finding and exploiting every possible fault in the persons in front of her. At least he didn't give her any more material to tease him with by protesting or denying.

"Pleasantries aside," she said returning to a more serious mood, "I'm curious about your presence here. The house of God is certainly open to everyone, but I was under the impression that you nurtured a particular dislike for this location."

"Can't argue with that. Normally I wouldn't set foot here if I could help it, but today I had to return something that I borrowed long ago."

He passed her the box he held under his arm. She opened it to reveal a neatly folded red cloth. Immediately her eyes flew to his arm.

"I thought that a complete healing was impossible," she said pensively.

"You know what's my policy about impossible things. Besides I'm not sure that _healed_ would be the proper word. Let's just say that we reached a balance, for a lack of better terms. Call it the compromise of two idiots if you'd like."

"That sounds like a remarkably good definition. Even then, you were under no obligation to return this Shroud. It's still a priceless artifact that could have served you well in a number of ways and… I see. You sympathized with it, didn't you?"

"Even if cloths are not my specialization, after wearing it almost constantly for more than four years it would have been impossible for me not to. Even I am not that talentless," he admitted with a sheepish grin.

"I understand. Then I'll gracefully accept it back on behalf of the Church. I'm sure I will find a proper use for it at some point."

"I don't doubt you will. Now, that technically conclude my business here but..."

"Yes?"

"Well, since I'll be leaving again tomorrow morning I was thinking of throwing a small feast over at my house. There's going to be just a few people but we'd like to have you for dinner, if you don't mind."

"My, this is unexpected. Are you perhaps trying to add me to your _collection_? I'll have you known that I will not fall for the temptations of your cuisine, Emiya Shirou."

"Fine, tease me as much as you like. See if I care," he scoffed. "Anyway, my offer still stands. Dinner will start at eight o'clock."

"I'll be there," she finally conceded. "Perhaps my presence will help alleviate the demons of lust that infest that den of debauchery."

"Argh!" he said as he left. "You really are insufferable when you want to."

She just offered the faintest of smirk as response. Truly birds of a feather…

* * *

><p>That dinner was rather loud event, courtesy of Taiga, no doubt. The nearly thirty year old teacher threw up a fuss over Shirou leaving again, and expressed her displeasure with an impromptu wrestling match at the expenses of the redhead's joints. That evening Shirou discovered the his limbs could stretch and bend far more than he ever thought, although he was fairly sure that had he not been the fast healer that he was, he would have remained paralyzed at least for a few days.<p>

Then again, that was probably Taiga's way to convince him to remain a little longer. Bedridden, mind you, but still there. Though luck for her that wasn't the case.

By the end of the night, Caren and Taiga returned to their respective places, the former thanking for the food, the latter muttering about the food she wasn't going to eat in the coming months.

Only the trio composed by Shirou , Sakura and Rider remained at that point and they all immediately went to clean the table and wash the dishes, before they all retired for the night.

The next morning he would have to say his goodbyes and return to Hinata city. Even knowing that he would miss his family he was rather excited about setting up his first proper workshop. One where he could explore the full extent of his abilities without fearing the eyes of the Association. With the added value of the leyline he had an immense amount of Mana to draw upon, thus making his researches less taxiing on his personal reserves.

Looking forward to the months to come, Emiya Shirou fell asleep dreaming of swords.

* * *

><p>Author Notes:<p>

* * *

><p>I've been working on this chapter for a while, and the only thing I can say about it, it's that it show my immaturity as an author and the major flaw of this story: being born without an actual plot. I've been tempted to start from scratch (if not abandon it altogether) but ultimately decided not to.<p>

I've been divided about showing Shirou visit in Fuyuki because I had the impression that I was overloading the story with the FSN side, while it's technically taking place in the LH universe. In any case this will be the last full immersion in the FSN portion and from now on LH will rule the entirety of story for a long while.

There's going to be some action in the next chapter, as the personal problem of one of the tenants begins to involve Shirou. Not too much ass kicking, but the plot will begin to take shape.

Thanks for reading.

Bye.


	8. Rusty Heart (I)

**- ARC 1 -**

* * *

><p><strong>Rusty Heart (I)<strong>  
><strong>(Published 12.22.12 . Beta: Sperance)<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Emiya Shirou had long since put behind him the idea of 'having seen everything'. Being a Magus and the Magus Killer on top of that, had beaten that silly notion out of him pretty damn quick.<em>

_Still, while he was ready to accept without flinching whatever oddity life threw at him, he had never imagined, even in his wildest dreams, the words that came out of his mouth in very moment._

"Then as agreed,"_ he said picking up a dumbstruck Motoko from the floor of her family dojo and flopping her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes_," this woman is mine."

_Yes awkward didn't even begin to cover it, and Shirou would have self-combusted over those words if the situation had been any different. As he left the dojo, leaving behind a number of shell-shocked elders in his wake, Shirou idly mused about how such a ridiculous chain of events had come to pass and the grumbled under his breath as he recalled that it was indeed entirely his fault._

* * *

><p><strong>A few weeks earlier<strong>

It was a quiet morning when the truck rented by Shirou stopped at the end of the flight of stairs that climbed all the way to the Hinata Inn. It required a not small amount of effort to carry all his stuff all the way up there but Shirou decided it was a decent alternative to his usual morning routine.

Leaving behind his family once more had not been an easy task. Sakura's watery eyes and Rider's rib-crushing hug still lingered in his mind but he was determined to get the best out of the entire situation. Besides it wasn't like he lived on the other side of the world. Not anymore.

Forcing himself not to dwell on Sakura's enticing scent that still lingered in his mind since the night they spent together, Shirou began climbing the stairs with the first few boxes, the physical effort helping him to focus on the present.

The Hinata-sou was a silent place at that hour. Most of his tenants had already left for school or, hopefully for Konno, to work. It suited him just fine since a few of his things weren't meant to be seen at all. Nothing dangerous, but a few of his most esoteric text would have picked the interest of the resident girls.

It took him a good half an hour to move everything from the truck to his room and well over an hour to set everything in place. Lacking shelves, most of his books were piled on the floor, sometimes even up to the ceiling. When exactly had he become such a bookworm?

Nearly five years of travels had done wonders to the boy who wanted to be a hero. Realizing that his ignorance of himself and the world at large, both magical and not, had been his greatest weak point during those fated two weeks, Shirou went from a barely average student to a driven scholar.

Travelling the world, he had picked several different interests along with a smidgen of different languages. Books of all kinds became the most usual memento of the places he visited, both because of their general usefulness and the relatively small space they occupied. Some of those texts were old and rare enough to cause salivation to most history researchers and even a few Magi.

Truth be told, Shirou was almost as proud of this collection as his _other_ one. He made a point of stuffing his most peculiar books were they were hardly reachable until he could set up a properly defended Workshop. There were a few suitable locations within his property that he intended to check out. So far the most interesting was a sturdy looking detached building with a basement. Its previous purpose was unknown to Shirou, but it looked like it used to house a big enough furnace, if the large obstructed chimney was any indication.

It would take him a while to restore it to proper working condition, all the more so with the preliminary exams coming up in a few weeks, but he could at least use it as a storage area for his less perishable materials, such as the alloys he used to craft his swords and even a few blades of his own making. As a precaution, he erected a minor Boundary field to keep the door closed shut and to inform him if anyone was trying to get inside.

With that out of the way, Shirou decided to go into town and buy some groceries. There was a recipe he wanted to try but never had the opportunity to try.

It took him around two hours on foot to walk to all the shops he wanted to visit and it was on his way back that he happened to witness the first incident.

Two guys, one relatively short and chubby and the other a little taller and much slimmer, were chatting up a group of schoolgirls. Shirou eyed the duo with a piecing gaze but as far as he could tell they were just trying to hook up without being too annoying, though the girls didn't seem to like the attention they were receiving. He was about to step in and discourage their attempts when he recognized one of the girls of the group.

Aoyama Motoko's face was expressing all her distaste at the situation and her hand was already reaching for the bokken tied behind her back.

_'Not good,'_ Shirou thought, his body already on the move. He had no time to prevent the strike that was surely about to come, but he could at least make some damage control.

"Leave us alone," she said readying her sword, "YOU PERVERTS."

The strike was fast and precise, and if the blade had been anything but wood, the two men would have been sliced in half. Instead they were just sent flying backwards, shrieking in fear at the display of strength. They had been up for a very painful meeting with the asphalt if Shirou hadn't stepped in and broken their fall.

"Oooff," the three of them breathed under the strain of the impact.

Shirou's gaze met Motoko's and her face was an emotionless mask. She paid them no further attention and turned to leave with her schoolmates in tow.

"Ow ow ow," the thin guy grumbled as she stood back on his feet.

"Man, what the hell was that?" the chubby guy asked as the too regained his footing.

"Are you guys okay?" Shirou asked the pair.

"Yeah, we're fine. Thanks for the help by the way. If you hadn't caught us I don't think we would be standing properly right now."

"It's nothing," Shirou replied. "Are you sure the sword didn't hurt you?"

"Nah, it's fine. We are used to girls rejecting us."

"With a wooden sword?" Shirou inquired. Despite his particular situation he wasn't exactly an expert in asking girls out and by extension being rejected, so maybe it was his viewpoint that was mistaken.

"Well, no," the slim guy admitted. "But we developed a thick hide after a while."

"Yup," the chubby guy replied, sounding somewhat proud, "nothing short of a real sword is going to actually hurt us."

"Well, if you say so," Shirou replied with some measure of respect. He had to give them some credit if they persevered in their attempts to the point of developing a degree of immunity to blunt attacks. Their dedication was worthy of praise, if anything.

"By the way, I'm Haitani," the slim guy introduced himself.

"And I'm Shirai," the other followed.

"Emiya Shirou," the redhead reciprocated.

"Thanks again for the help," Haitani said but his eyes were already wandering to another group of girls nearby.

"Yeah," Shirai agreed running after his friend. "Thanks a bunch. We'll see you around, ok?"

"Sure," Shirou said, somewhat amused as he watched the duo approach the group, chat them up for a moment before the girls replied something he couldn't hear and left, leaving behind a dejected duo. Yep, words could hurt more than blades after all.

Shirou didn't exactly know how to deal with Aoyama. The girl wasn't exactly dangerous as she didn't lash out until provoked and even then it looked like she could contain he reaction to the point of not making any damage, be it permanent or otherwise.

Granted, a common person probably wouldn't have survived the technique she had used on him when they first met but then again being pinned naked on the floor by an unknown man was a very good reason to freak out and overreact. Perhaps one of the few reasons Shirou could understand.

At first he thought that, as a member of a family with an obviously old fashioned lifestyle, her interactions with the male gender had been extremely limited and as a result she didn't know how to deal with complex situations where boys were involved.

That idea quickly went down the drain when he learned that she attended a mixed school and had done so for several years. Her gender based mistrust wasn't therefore a result of inexperience but probably the aftermath of an unpleasant experience or experiences of which Shirou had no knowledge. That meant that something bothered her to the point that she automatically distrusted half of humanity.

Still, that didn't mean that Shirou could overlook her behavior. It was one thing if he was the target of her fury. He was much sturdier than most humans and he had enough battle experience to deal with her techniques.

She was skilled, no doubt. She was skilled enough to use her techniques in ways that didn't make permanent harm even on common bystanders, but accidents could always happen. Shirou couldn't just let her go hoping that the worst wouldn't happen. He had to confront her about it and make her stop.

The problem was how to actually do so without sticking his nose in her business. He just couldn't waltz up to her and demand her to tell him what her issue was. Well, he actually could if he ignored all proper behavior and if he didn't mind being her training dummy for an indefinite amount of time. While the latter reason bothered him -_disturbingly_ - much less than the former, Shirou wasn't sure that avenue would lead to anything productive.

Caught between the hammer and a hard place, Shirou knew that he was probably going to conflict with the swordswoman before he had the chance to make any progress in helping her. To speed up the process he decided to confront her about it right away.

He ran in the direction she saw her walking. Considering his location she was probably going back to the inn.

As if she was expecting him to follow her, Aoyama was waiting for him at the top of the stairs to the Hinata-sou. One hand was lazily resting over the hilt of her bokken but her eyes were as sharp as a blade.

"Emiya-san," she called when he finished his climb, "I would appreciate it if you didn't meddle with my affairs from now onward."

"I don't really mean to stick my nose into your business, Aoyama-san," he replied evenly but firmly. "However I won't look the other way when you're using your sword against common people."

"They were harassing us," she retorted icily, "or perhaps are you saying that I should have let them have their way with us?"

"I'm not saying anything of the sort, but I'm advising you to find another way to dispose of unwanted suitors before something irreversible happens."

"Are you suggesting that my skills with the blade are sloppy? Perhaps you require another… demonstration."

Hostility was pouring from her and in spite of lacking the desire to fight her; Shirou's mind was already caressing his inner world. Not that he was going to pull anything out but it was an instinctive reaction when subjected to such a level of enmity.

Neither said anything for a moment and the tension kept building between them until Aoyama turned and left in the direction of the inn, sending a last challenging glare at him.

Shirou sighed and shook his head. Well, at least he had made his point clear.

* * *

><p>The following week passed without too much fuss. Finally settled in his new residence and with most of the pressing repairs being done, Shirou managed to hit the books and study for the coming exams. He hardly ever left his room if not to attend his duties as a manager and a few short breaks.<p>

Interactions with the other tenants were at an all-time low but that was for the best. The few times he met any of them they conversed cordially if a little coldly in some instances. Konno still tried shamelessly to flirt with him at any given chance, her efforts doubled since his return from Fuyuki.

Shirou had enough knowledge of a woman's mindset to understand that it wasn't much about him anymore but rather a challenge to Rider. It wasn't the first time a woman came onto him just to heal her wounded pride.

Shirou simply avoided her like the plague and she didn't dare to go looking for him into his room, probably still sore about the topic of his privacy after the last incident involving his personal space.

Everything went fine for exactly seven days. Then things started to go awry in ways that lead Shirou to believe the Inn was cursed somehow. I mean, just how many accidents involving accidental groping and peeking can happen in one week?

Apparently more than a few.

The first accident happened due to a faulty floorboard. Shirou was walking down a corridor when the floor beneath his foot gave in, causing him to trip and topple forward. Normally it wouldn't have been bad as she would have regained his balance long before hitting the ground but instead he dove head first between Narusegawa's generous breasts, the girl just happening to be passing by in the opposite direction.

The cry of "PERVERT" was surpassed only by the noise of her palm meeting his face at an admittedly impressive speed. That girl could pack a nasty punch when she put herself to it.

The next day he was cleaning the steps in front of the inn when his heart froze at the sight of Kaolla Suu dancing merrily on the rooftop. When she slipped and fell to her death, Shirou dashed to catch her before she could hit the ground. His endeavor was successful but the girl proved she wasn't in any danger when she flipped in midair to land gracefully on her feet. Too bad that in the meantime Shirou had already positioned himself on her landing spot with the only result of getting a face full of her panties.

The following nosebleed was caused by being struck to the face by Suu's– admittedly soft – bottom and by having his head slammed on the ground when he lost his balance. Narusegawa didn't seem to interpret this situation as the accident it was and promptly punched him in the face while he was still too dizzy to react. Kaolla seemed to have a great deal of fun watching him being propelled backward by the strength of Narusegawa's blow.

Shirou had every intention to protest about the treatment he received but in mid-flight he notice that Narusegawa had beaten Aoyama _– quite literally –_ to the punch. Considering that it would have been far worse if he received his punishment from the resident swordswoman, Shirou decided to let it slid.

The final incident took place in the hot springs. Now, Shirou had made sure never to step inside the place outside of the cleaning hours and the slots of time reserved to him just to insure that no accidents could take place when the girls were naked.

Still, it appeared that a greater force, one may call it fate, was at play where he was involved.

In the past few days Konno had lamented that the heater wasn't working properly but Shirou never had the time to see what was wrong with the appliance. When he finally managed to take a look and tinker with it a little, Shirou didn't find anything out of ordinary. Deciding to employ his other _talents_ to figure out what the issue was, the resident red head had just the time to widen his eyes when his tracing ability detected a gas leak further down the pipes a mere fraction of second before a switch went off, causing a small spark.

"Oh, shi-"

The explosion and resulting column of fire startled the female resident of the Hinata-sou but not as much as the even immediately following the unscheduled firework.

"GUAAAAAH!"

In a blaze of glory, Emiya Shirou fell from the sky like a burning meteor and landing, both fortunately and unfortunately in the currently occupied hot springs.

When he emerged with his clothes half burned but without noticeable injury, the only thing he could do beside coughing out the water out of his lungs was to take in the sight of four naked and shocked woman. Of course the shock lasted just enough for Shirou to realize he was in serious trouble.

"Well damn," he managed to say before a ki blast sent him flying once again but this time through several layers of walls. Walls that, he mused mid-flight, was up to him to repair. Insult and injury, no doubt.

* * *

><p><strong>Hinata Tea Shop<strong>

"It's not funny," Shirou whined as he drunk his tea.

"I'm not laughing," his recently discovered cousin-turned-aunt (don't call her that) said, taking a breath from her cigarette.

"Your shoulders are shaking, Haruka-san," he pointed out.

"Still, I'm not laughing," she replied with a straight face. It was quite obvious that she wanted to burst out and laugh at her nephew's luck, or rather, lack of thereof. It was impressive how she could keep an impassive face even when her body was shaking in mirth.

Shirou sighed and gave up this cause. He would probably never win an argument against a woman.

"I'm not sure what's going on, Haruka-san. I'm being cautious and I make sure not to approach the any of the tenants at a bad time but things just keep happening. I know these kinds of accidents aren't unusual when men and women live under the same roof but this is going overboard. In less than two weeks this has happened more often than in an entire year back at home. Is this inn cursed or something?"

"Actually, yes," she replied in all seriousness.

"What?" he almost shouted.

"Calm down," she scolded him, swatting his head. "What's wrong? I didn't picture you for the superstitious type."

"I'm not superstitious at all," he snapped back. Things like ghosts, curses and other things usually chalked up to superstitions did actually exist, even if not in the way most people believed they were.

"Of course you aren't," she replied condescendingly, not knowing his insight on the subject. "Anyway, the Hinata-sou has quite the reputation on that regard. It used to be a famous spot for quarreling lovers to visit. It's said that it has the power to push people toward one another. It has a history of happy couples being formed here that spans centuries."

"Wait, wait, wait," he said palming his face. "Are you telling me that the inn is actually subject to a curse of that sort?"

"Of course not," she waved him off. "Are you stupid? There isn't such thing as curses or blessings. It's just a coincidence. Wait… you aren't really taking this seriously, are you?"

"It would make sense," Shirou mused, ignoring the woman beside him. "If I went out of my way to avoid the tenants and they did the same, then an attraction effect would act with much more strength than normal to fulfill its purpose. Still… what could possibly be its origin? It's not a Boundary Field or I would have detected it by now. Maybe a form of spiritual influence fueled by the leyline or- ouch! What was that for?" he asked, rubbing the spot on his head where his relative had hit him.

"Stop sputtering nonsense. It's just a coincidence. Don't get so worked up on an old story without fundaments."

"No fundaments you say… Well then, what do you think I should do? Barricade myself in my room won't work for long. Avoiding them didn't work all too well. I'm open to suggestions."

"No idea," she deadpanned and Shirou sent a mild glare at her. "Look, there isn't much you can do for things beyond your control. You've done a good job so far in handling them, all things considered. I expected much worse, knowing them as I do. If you really want to solve the situation, stop avoiding them and face them head on. More than that, you should give them a little time to get adjusted to your presence."

"I guess I don't have many other options, but I'm not taking responsibility for anything, okay?"

"Do your best," she waved him off.

Shirou left the tea shop and began climbing the stairs to the inn. He was seriously considering the possibility of a spiritual influence over the inn. It wasn't all that improbable considering that it was built over a considerably powerful leyline. It was certainly worth of investigation.

That being said, he was nowhere close to solve his problem with the resident girls. Fine, he decided, if avoiding them didn't work out he would do his best to befriend them.

Then he thought about Narusegawa's and Aoyama's temper and sighed. It was probably going to be an endeavor that would require him to be at the wrong end of several violent beatings. Such was the burden of being a hero of justice.

Of course he didn't know just how badly things could escalate in the span of a few days. If he had known… well, he would have probably done the same thing. He was an idiot like that.

* * *

><p><strong>The next day<strong>

It was late afternoon, a little too early for dinner but not too late for a quick snack. Most of the tenants were in their respective rooms, except for Shinobu who had long since finished her schoolwork and the portion of her chores. Since Emiya-san had started his job as manager she had much more free time on her hands. Time she could invest in her studies and hobbies.

In this case she had tried to bake some cookies and she was quite satisfied with the results and was more than willing to share them with the other residents. Of course, she wasn't above being praised for her work but she was quite aware that practically no one would have bothered with complimenting her skills behind the kitchen's counter. Kaolla would have probably complained that her cookies weren't banana-flavored, Motoko would have simply refused the treat because she didn't like sweets, Naru was too engrossed in her studies to do anything but thank her for the nice thought and Kitsune was probably drunk in her room and unable to muster enough brain capacity to form coherent sentences.

That of course meant that her first stop would probably be the room of the only man in the entire building.

"Emiya-san," Shinobu's voice called once she reached the door to his room," can I come in?"

"Sure," Emiya-san's voice confirmed. Shinobu pulled the sliding door open and stepped inside, only to freeze in wonder at the sight of his room. Most of the walls were no longer visible, hidden behind layers of stacked books. Her eyes scurried over the titles and she was somewhat taken aback by the variety of subjects they covered. That, of course, was true only for those titles she actually managed to understand.

"Shinobu-san?" Emiya-san called, snapping her out of her stupor.

Shinobu gaze turned to him and she was surprised of finding him sitting on the floor behind a small table, also covered in books. What surprised her the most; however, were the pair of glasses he was wearing at the moment. A simple if refined rectangular design. Nothing fancy but it almost completely changed the look of the man she had come to know recently.

"Emiya-san, I didn't know you needed glasses."

"Oh, these? I don't really need them. My sight is 20:20 but they are nice to have when I study for extended periods of time," he said taking them off. "So, what can I do for you today?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you were interested in a quick snack and some tea."

"It's already this late?" he asked, stealing a glance at his wristwatch. "Time sure flies when you're busy. Sure, I'll have some. It's still too early for dinner and I'm feeling a little hungry anyway. Please have a seat… uh… let me make some room first."

He quickly cleaned the table of most books and provided a cushion for her to seat.

"You know Emiya-san," Shinobu started after sipping her tea, "I didn't figure you for the bookish type. Ah; no offense."

"None taken," Emiya-san chuckled. "Truth to be told, I wasn't much into academics a few years back. It's an interest I've developed just recently. I collected these books only in the past two years."

"J-just two years? And you've read them all?"

"Most of them, yes. I used to travel a lot and I had plenty of spare time to read as I moved around. Books are one of the few things I could carry around without taking too much place in my luggage so…," he trailed off.

"It's amazing. There must be hundreds of books here. I don't even know what most of these are about."

"It's not that really that amazing. I started with simple things and worked my way up to more complex stuff. It's just a matter of dedication and patience. Even the most difficult goals can be reached if you try hard enough."

"I wish I could think like that too, but I'm not really good when it comes to studying. I'm an average student at best. I could never hope to get in Toudai like you're trying to do."

"Actually," he coughed a little embarrassed, "I used to be a below average student during high school, but I still managed to score an eighty percent in the mock exams last year."

"But… but… but … how?" she asked in wonderment. She couldn't believe that Emiya-san could be anything but a stellar student. Not so much because she knew anything about his academic prowess but rather because she didn't think that her savior turned landlord could be any less than excellent at anything he did.

"Lots of patience and a good teacher I guess. Well… more of the latter to be completely honest. I never really had the propensity to sit around all day reading. Then I realized that there are only so many things I can accomplish with my hands and without my brain, so I tried to rectify that. I'm still not really good when it comes to studying, but I make up for it with effort and hard work. I'm sure you could do the same if you wanted, Shinobu-san."

"I… I don't really think so. I mean, I really, really slow on most subjects."

"Don't look down on yourself so easily. I'm sure it's just a matter of finding out the right way to study. Tell you what, I'm not really that much of a teacher myself, but I can look over your homework if you'd like."

"I couldn't ask that of you, Emiya-san. You're already so busy with your own studies and all the work around the inn."

"Nonsense. I certainly can spare some time to help you. Don't worry, it's not a bother. Honestly."

"Really?" she asked timidly if eagerly. At his nod she dashed out of his room to retrieve her schoolbooks, quickly returning a couple of minutes later, a little short of breath.

"There was no need to run, Shinobu-san," he pointed out kindly.

"I... *anf*… don't want to take too much of your time."

"You worry too much. Come sit and let's see what's giving you so much trouble."

The next hour and a half was spent with Emiya giving her tips and suggestions on her current assignments. He was patient with her when she didn't understand something and she found her awkwardness around him slowly dissolve as time passed. She was so focused and relaxed that she didn't notice she was sitting right beside him, shoulder against shoulder, until she closed her last book satisfied with not having made a single mistake for the first time in her life.

"See? That wasn't so hard," he smiled down at her from close enough that she could smell his mint-scented breath.

"Ah," she yelped, flushing in embarrassment, "you're right. Thank you Emiya-san."

That would have probably been the end of it, hadn't Shinobu forgot to consider that her legs have been curled for well over an hour and thus weren't ready for the sudden movement of standing up to escape the closeness to his body.

She wobbled and toppled backward, hitting the precarious wall of books behind her.

"KYAAAAA!" she shouted as the pile fell upon her with a thunderous crash.

* * *

><p>Motoko was seething. Her barely contained fury could be seen burning through her narrowed eyes. The past week's <em>accidents<em> had riled her up to no end, but that lecherous man always had an excuse ready for his behavior. A faulty floor board, Kaolla's excessive behavior, a malfunctioning heater. Every single time he had a motivation for being caught in less than acceptable situations.

But it couldn't hold, she knew that much. He would slip at some point and reveal his true nature. She just had to wait and get him when that happened. She just had to be patient and…

"KYAAAAA!"

A shout echoed through the inn, accompanied by the sound of something crashing heavily. Motoko's body was in motion before she had a chance to even think what was happening. She recognized Shinobu's voice all too well and both her scream and the noise came without a doubt from the pervert's room.

This time there was no possible excuse. Shinobu had no reason to be in his room unless he lured her there with some excuse or another, undoubtedly trying to take advantage of her trusting nature to force her into something, but Shinobu had to have fought back.

This was the chance she had been waiting for. This time she could prove how that man should be kicked out of the inn and possibly into a cage like the animal he was.

Her feet carried her down the stairs and to the crime scene with blinding speed. She didn't hesitate in slamming the door open and confront Emiya once and for all. The scene was even worse than she thought.

Shinobu was laying on the floor under a number of books that must have fallen on her causing the ruckus she heard. The younger girl's skirt was lifted all the way to her waist, exposing her panties. To make matter worse, Emiya was on top of her, his frame lying between the younger girl's exposed legs, pinning Shinobu down with the full weight of his body.

Motoko's vision went red. She had expected him to be harassing one of the tenants but to be so shameless to try and force himself on her was beyond the worst she could expect of him.

"Get away for her, you lecherous bastard," she snarled, unsheathing her sword in the process. She stomped over to him, ready to unleash rightful punishment on the man who dared to assault a woman. The only reason why she had to restrain herself was because he pulled back making Shinobu sit back up and putting her in her line of attack.

"Are you all right, Shinobu-san?" he asked, faking his concern.

"Ow... I think I hit my head," Shinobu replied dizzily.

"Shinobu, get away from him right now."

"Eh? Motoko-senpai what… KYA!"

Motoko didn't wait and pulled the younger girl away from the pervert's grasp, holding her sword so that it would remain between him and them.

"I had warned you that such behaviors would not be tolerated under this roof, but you just had to ignore my warnings and assault Shinobu, didn't you?"

"You're overreacting, Aoyama-san," he replied coolly, with the practiced ease of somebody who undoubtedly had wormed his way out of many similar situations. It wouldn't fool her. "It was merely an accident."

"Of course it was. It's always an accident when you're involved, isn't it? Do you really think I would believe such an obvious lie under such circumstances? You tried to force yourself on Shinobu, there's no way you can deny it."

"What's going on?" the voice of Kitsune and Narusegawa demanded as they followed the ruckus.

"This man tried to rape Shinobu," Motoko explained without removing her eyes from him. "I caught him in the act."

"WHAT?" they both shouted.

"Why you little…"

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!" Shinobu shouted surprising everyone. Tears were falling from her eyes as she tried to wriggle out of Motoko's hold.

"Shinobu, what are you talking about?"

"Emiya-san didn't assault me," she sobbed. "He shielded me with his body when I clumsily caused his books to fall on me."

"That's just what he wants you to believe, Shinobu. Think about it, he must have knocked against you and caused the books to fall, isn't it? You don't have to be scared. I won't let him harm you again."

"Why won't you listen to me? He didn't do anything like that. It was my fault he got hurt in my place."

"Then why were you in his room if he hadn't lured you in here? What excuse did he use to convince you to come in here?"

"He was tutoring me," she explained, finally slipping out of Motoko's grasp. "He helped me with my homework for over an hour. It's not his fault I'm clumsy. Why do you keep accusing him of being a pervert? He never did anything wrong."

"Shinobu, can't you see that's exactly what he wants you to think? He's always in a compromising position when we're around. He's just very adept at making excuses and wriggling himself out of his punishment. He's just playing you, Shinobu."

"Stop," she sobbed. "Just stop. Why are you always being so mean to him? He saved my life."

"Shinobu, you're exaggerating," Naru sighed, trying to make the younger girl see reason. "A few books wouldn't have killed you."

"Not that… not that… Before he even came to the inn…"

"Shinobu-san, there's no need to…" the man tried to say but Motoko cut him off.

"Shut up, you. I really want to hear what you convinced her of," she snarled. Had the pervert approached the naïve and unassuming girl even before getting to the inn? How long had the bastard been harassing poor Shinobu?

"I was… _*hic* _I was returning from shopping when I crossed the road without looking… _*hic*_Emiya-san… Emiya-san drove his bike in front of the truck that was about to run over me and saved my life _*hic*_. He almost died because of me. Stop treating him like a monster… _*hic*_ he's my hero…."

No one said a word. Even the perv… Emiya didn't know what to say, refusing to meet anyone's gaze even though everyone was staring at him.

Motoko was chilled to the core. Her sword-wielding arm was feeling numb and she couldn't help but feeling ashamed. Could she have been misreading him so badly? Could she really be wrong about him? No. No, that couldn't be possible. Shinobu was probably exaggerating her story and Emiya was capitalizing on it. Yes, that was the only possible explanation. He was scum. Scum!

"Yes, well," Kitsune said awkwardly breaking the ice, "I think that we can put this past us as an awful incident. Come here Shinobu-chan. Shh," she whispered, hugging the crying girl to her chest. "It's okay. We ain't gonna bite him, see?"

Shinobu just kept sobbing and Motoko felt like she was being stabbed. Closing her eyes she sheathed her sword and turned to the only male present, doing the one thing she never once thought she would do. She bowed.

"My apologies. I've misinterpreted the situation and caused unnecessary turmoil. Please forgive me."

She felt like her stomach wanted to turn inside out. Her tone was careful and controller but inside she was raging. Again the man had managed to avoid his punishment by distorting the situation to his advantage and making her look like she was the villain in this situation. He was good at that, she had to acknowledge it.

"It's okay," he replied. "There was no harm done. More importantly, Shinobu-san, were you hurt at all?"

"No, _*hic* _I'm fine. Sorry, I've caused you a lot of trouble Emiya-san."

"No, it was just a misunderstanding, there's no need for you to apologize."

"We should probably get your face cleaned up Shinobu-chan," Kitsune said soothingly. "Come on."

The resident drunkard led the younger girl away, leaving the rest behind. An uncomfortable silence fell upon the trio that was broken just a moment later by the object of the current events.

"Well, with this incident behind us now I should probably start to prepare dinner. I don't think Shinobu-san is in any condition to cook for today."

"Yes, that would be best," Narusegawa agreed. "Thank you Emiya-san. Come on, Motoko. There's nothing left to do here."

Motoko followed after Narusegawa but she threw one last glare at the object of her hatred before slamming the door close with enough strength to shake the walls.

"Naru-san, please wait a moment," the swordswoman called after her friend. "You certainly don't believe what that man said, do you?"

"Look Motoko," the older girl sighed, "I'm not the biggest supporter of men in general but Emiya-san so far behaved properly. We might have started with the wrong foot and there might have been a few incidents along the way but I don't really think he's doing it on purpose."

"Naru-san," Motoko hissed, "I can't believe it. Do you honestly trust that man?"

"Trust is a big word, Motoko. I'm just saying that I find it hardly believable that he would make the heater blow up and set himself on fire just to perv on us in the hot springs. And how many times did one of the floorboard break when we stepped on it, making us trip?"

"But…"

"I'm not saying he isn't enjoying it," she cut her off, "I'm just saying that he isn't making it happen on purpose, that's all."

"Even if that were the case, just his presence is cause of unrest. If this keeps up there's no way we'll have the chance to live peacefully without having to constantly look behind our shoulders in case he's up to something nefarious."

"Motoko, even if I agree with you there's not really anything we can do without any proof of wrongdoing. He owns the place and it was us who insisted for him to stay in the first place, remember? He was the first against moving in with us to begin with."

"Ugh," she groaned. She had forgotten that his presence was a necessity unless they wanted to be evicted and the dorm turned back into an actual inn. It was because of their insistence that he agreed to stay. "Well, what if I convince him to turn over the management to us and he'll just come over to collect the rent and take care of his part of the chores?"

"I… that would be great, but how do you expect to convince him to do that? He said that he couldn't afford to live elsewhere unless he had a job. You can't expect him to have two jobs and also study for the exams. It's just impossible."

"Well, that's his problem isn't it? I'm going to challenge him to a duel over the propriety of the inn. After I defeat him he'll have no choice but to surrender the Hinata-sou to us and agree to our terms."

"Motoko," Naru hissed scandalized, "do you intend to steal the inn from Granny's family?"

"Don't be silly;" she replied appalled, "I'm just going to hold it for the rest of the time we stay here. We'll still pay the rent. I'm not a thief."

"Uh… I'm not sure that's a good idea. I mean, what would Granny Hina say?"

"She can't blame us if I win the Hinata-sou in an honest duel, isn't it?"

"I…. guess, but I have the feeling this is going to end badly. What if you lose?"

"Are you suggesting I could lose to a man?" Motoko hissed enraged. "To _that_ man of all people?"

"No… well. He is strong. He's disarmed you once already," Naru pointed out

"That was just because I underestimated him and he took me by surprise. If I focus there is no way he could best me."

"I don't know Motoko. How can you be so sure?"

"I trained in the way of the sword since I was able to walk, Naru-san," Motoko growled, "even if that man were to possess a measure of experience, do you honestly believe he could even come close to my level?"

"Ah. No, probably not, but… well, just be careful ok?"

"Of course. I will trash him so badly he won't even know what hit him."

With that declaration Motoko stormed to her room to prepare herself. Emiya might be a worm but she wouldn't make the mistake to challenge him without being at her very best. With her skill she would crush the bug's pride and kick him out of her home once and for all.

* * *

><p>XXX<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Well damn. It's been almost five months since last update? Shame on me.<p>

That being said, writing this story trying not to make the characters look completely idiotic is really difficult. Shirou is nowhere near as dumb as Keitaro and I have to make the girls more difficult to deal with without making them into outright bitches (which I'm not sure I managed to do).

Anyway, the next chapter is already done so I'll be putting it up in perhaps two weeks, so I can work on yet another chapter before putting the next up.

This is it for now. Happy Holidays, everyone!


	9. Rusty Heart (II)

**Rusty Heart (II)  
>(Published: 12.31.12 – Beta: Sperance)<strong>

* * *

><p>It happened two days after the incident that involved Shinobu and a hastily made accusation of attempted rape.<p>

Shirou probably should have seen it coming. Since his arrival, the pressure between him and Aoyama kept building up and with him denying her a chance to blow it off when she felt like she was entitled to, Shirou was condemning himself to one huge showdown. It was just a matter of who would give up first and demand a final confrontation, but Shirou was much more patient than the resident swordswoman.

That, coming from a guy who jumped head first into life threatening situations, said everything about how short Aoyama's fuse actually was where he was concerned.

So he wasn't surprised when he found himself staring at the pointy end of her blade, nor was he shocked in any measure by her words.

"Emiya Shirou, I, Aoyama Motoko of the Aoyama Shinmei-ryu, hereby challenge you to a duel."

Not really that surprising, was it? In fact, it was so painfully obvious this had to happen sooner or later that Shirou was more surprised by the other tenants' reaction when the swordswoman made her declaration at breakfast.

Hm, he mused, Narusegawa didn't look shocked at all. She probably knew all along. Ah, well.

"Motoko-senpai," Shinobu squeaked. Was it fear, indignation or both that Shirou could hear in her voice?

"Oh, this is going to be interesting," Konno said, leaning back on her chair with an amused grin.

"Is a duel good to eat?" Suu asked with a little drool coming out of her mouth. Ignoring the audience, Shirou gave the only possible response.

"State you terms," his voice was calm, unwavering and he didn't even look up at her as she spoke, preferring to continue eating his breakfast. He was slightly pleased when he heard a barely audible 'uh' of surprise from his challenger at his acceptance of the situation. Didn't expect that, did she?

"Wooden swords," she replied, recovering quickly, "to knock down or surrender. If I win I demand ownership of the Hinata-sou."

"Motoko!" all the presents minus Narusegawa shouted. She was definitely in the loop.

"And if you lose?" he asked, unshaken by the bold request she just made. She scoffed, as if implying she would never lose against him. Now, that annoyed him a little.

"If I lose then I will no longer question your presence and your decisions within these walls," she declared.

"I refuse," he replied flatly, again not bothering to look up from his breakfast.

"You what?!" she growled aloud. "Ah! I should have known. You are a coward, after all. What is it Emiya? Scared of facing a woman when you aren't ambushing her?"

"I absolutely have no problems with fighting you, Aoyama-san," he replied evenly, placing his sticks on the table and wiping his mouth clean. "If you wish to fight me, then I will indulge you anytime."

"Then-"

"However," he cut her off. "You terms aren't really acceptable."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"You're asking me to fight over the ownership of what amounts to be the Urashima family's, my family's, legacy and the only thing you're offering in return, should you lose, is something that as a tenant you already owe me. That's not even remotely even, Aoyama-san."

"What are you proposing then?"

"It's simple. If you want something then you must put on the line something of equal or greater value, otherwise even if you win you would be nothing but a thief. What I propose is legacy for legacy. If you win I will give you the inn…."

"And if you win?"

"If I win I'll seal away your sword and you'll live as a woman."

A collective gasp filled the room. This time even Narusegawa was taken aback. Even the cheerful and apparently ever-oblivious Suu was now sporting a serious glint in her eyes, testament to the fact that she wasn't as absent-minded as she made it out to be. However, none of their expressions equaled the look on Aoyama's face.

"W-what?"

"Equal exchange, Aoyama-san," Shirou reproached. "Equal exchange."

"That's preposterous!" she shrieked in outrage. "How dare you even suggest I would bet such a thing in a challenge against YOU of all people!"

Shirou stood up. Slowly he rose from his seat, his eyes finally locked with hers and his mouth quirked into a grin.

"What's wrong Aoyama-san? Scared of fighting a _man_ when you actually have something to lose?"

Aoyama's mouth snapped close so fast that the sound echoed in the otherwise still and soundless room. The only following noise was her soft growling, infinite loathing in her eyes.

"Very well," she hissed through clenched teeth. "I accept your terms."

"Let's meet in one hour at the clearing behind the Inn," he proposed almost jovially.

"Agreed," she said, storming out of the room immediately afterwards, no doubt to prepare for the upcoming confrontation.

Then, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, Shirou resumed eating his breakfast while around him, all Hell broke loose.

Shirou paid them no mind, focused on eating his breakfast while inwardly considering the repercussions of this event. No matter how he dealt with this the repercussions would be felt by everyone in the Hinata-sou, but there was no avoiding this confrontation.

None at all.

* * *

><p><strong>An hour later<strong>

"Motoko, are you absolutely sure about this? He seemed pretty confident earlier," Naru asked as she accompanied her friend to the chosen field of battle.

"Confident or not, I'm not going to lose against him," she proclaimed, steadily making her way to the selected battlefield . "Besides, I cannot back down from a challenge I have issued myself after questioning his courage. My honor is at stake here and I have no intention to live in shame."

"But Motoko, what if you lose?"

Motoko stopped and turned to face her friend. "For the last time, Naru, I'm not going to lose to the likes of him. I have a lifetime of training, skill and experience on my side. What does he have?"

"I don't know," Naru replied honestly. "We don't know anything about him at all."

"We know enough," Motoko said resuming her walk. "He's some vagrant who disregarded his academic duties to travel the world and lived in debauchery with four women. Do you honestly think that some sleaze like him can be any threat to ME?"

"N-no, but…"

"Then there is nothing more to be said. Regardless of what you may think of him, there is no turning back now. This is my final decision."

"… Okay. Good luck, Motoko."

"Luck has nothing to do with this, Naru-san, but thank you nonetheless."

* * *

><p>Sitting on a rock, Shirou waited patiently for his challenger while he rested his hands and chin on the hilt of a bokuto, one that he carved by himself and therefore he could host into his inner world.<p>

He arrived ten minutes before the appointed time because it would have been impolite to arrive at the exact time or even a moment later than intended. It was also a good way to scout out for eventual traps.

Not that he thought that Aoyama would resort to underhanded tactics but old habits die hard. Besides, it was always better to have a good grasp of the battlefield if possible. Many great warriors of the past had fallen because they tripped at the worst possible moment. Shirou had no intention to ever lose because of some lame reason like that. Especially not this fight, not with what was a stake.

Not the Hinata-sou, of course. Shirou personally didn't care yet about the inn. Sure, it was a charming place but a couple of weeks were hardly long enough to develop any kind of attachment to the place. No, Shirou wasn't fighting for some old building or to protect his honor. He was fighting to take the way of the sword away from Aoyama.

Cruel? Perhaps, but that didn't mean it wasn't necessary.

Shirou didn't know what the reason for Motoko's distaste of males in general was, though he could easily tell why she didn't like him in particular: he intruded into a place she considered safe and refused to submit to her demands, going as far as to thwart her attempts to put him into what she assumed was his place.

What he was certain beyond all doubts as well was that her sword was in the way of her growth. She had a problem she refused to face, refused to overcome, hiding behind her blade and pushing away every potential threat instead of trying to understand and come to terms with it. She didn't know yet, but it was rotting her from the inside out.

Of course, Shirou hadn't suddenly become a shrink nor had his understanding of the female gender improved by any measure _– strange but fascinating creatures they were –_ but he did understand swords better than anybody else.

Yes, he could understand swords and perhaps swords could understand him in return. For that reason he knew what he had to do. He knew because Shisui told him, called him, reached out for him to help its master. The ancient, semi-sentient blade cared for its owner just like its owner cared for it and the sword would support its master in any and every circumstance even if that meant parting ways.

So Shirou would take it away from her, forcing her to face her fears instead of keeping them at sword's length. Then, perhaps. she could begin walking down the path of the blade once more. It was such a shame that Motoko's ears were too filled by her own fear to hear her blade reaching out to her.

That wouldn't do, wouldn't do at all. He couldn't bear to witness such potential being wasted just as much as he couldn't stand seeing a person be tormented as Aoyama was.

"Emiya-san," Shinobu's fear-tinged voice shook him out of his thoughts. He cracked open one eye and looked at her.

"Hm?"

"Are you really… really going to go through with this? Motoko-senpai… she's really strong."

"Strong you say?" he mused closing his eye again, humming to himself. "No, she isn't strong. Skilled, without doubt, but not strong. Strength is much different from what she has."

"But…"

"Don't worry Shinobu," he smiled gently. "I'm not going to lose. Besides, it's too late to turn back now. Isn't that right, Aoyama-san?"

"Indeed," the swordswoman said, emerging from the woods, her frown clearly indicating that she had heard his comment. "I will make you regret those words, Emiya."

No honorifics. Ah, well. No much use for forced politeness when you're about to beat the shit out of someone.

"We'll see about that, now won't we?" he asked, still smiling. The lack of whatever tension in his voice or posture seemed to irritate Aoyama even further. Internally, Shirou winced as he realized once more that he was indeed becoming the jerk he despised so much. Somewhere, he knew, a Counter Guardian was laughing at his predicament. If a place such as Heaven or Hell existed, then probably so would Kotomine Kirei. Shirou was quite sure that if they hadn't had completely opposite moral compasses, his potential future self and the sadistic fake priest would have gotten along famously.

… That thought alone was enough to make him want to vomit, but he held back. It wouldn't make much of an impression if he threw up his breakfast right then before the duel, would it?

Aoyama glared at him but said nothing. She apparently had enough self-discipline to know not to give into an opponent's taunting. As she silently glared daggers at him, the rest of the Hinata-sou had gathered. Even Haruka-san had come to witness the duel, though it was taking place during working hours. Just who was running the shop while she was there?

"You know," he said turning to the audience, "I don't really mind you all being here but don't you have a job or a school to attend to?"

They all nodded but no one provided any justification as to why they were neglecting their duties.

"What's wrong Emiya?" Aoyama asked, readying her bokuto in front of her. "Afraid that too many people will witness your shame?"

"Not really," he shrugged nonchalantly, assuming the same stance as she did, with his bokuto held vertically with both hands in front of him. "Just wondering, is all. Now, shall we begin? Haruka-san, would you please act as judge?"

"Sure," she said with her ever-present cigarette hanging from her mouth. "You know Shirou, I didn't expect this kind of outcome when I told you to face things directly."

"Liar," he said bluntly but smiling at her sideways. "This is exactly what you were expecting to happen. You went as far as to have someone ready to replace you at the tea shop with short notice, just in case something like this happened. You're not one to shrink on your duties after all, Haruka-san."

She almost dropped her cigarette in surprise at his bold statement but then she grinned at him knowingly.

"You have a devious mind, Shirou."

Shirou snorted but said nothing, returning to stare at his opponent, but silently nothing that she didn't deny his claim.

"Very well then," Haruka said, stepping up to the challengers, "the rules are wooden swords, to knock down or surrender. Are you both ready?" They nodded and she lifted her hand. "Well, then. HAJIME!"

* * *

><p>Motoko's body moved out of instinct, beating all conscious reflexes. Her sword swung with a speed she had never shown around normal people, even when unleashing some of her more violent and showy techniques. She had every intention to seize victory with a single attack, sealing Emiya's fate and showing exactly how much of a fool he had been to even consider facing her with a sword.<p>

However, her strike didn't meet his body as she intended. The other bokuto rose into the path of her blow, angled in a way that forced her to slide against it. She didn't have time to be surprised, her training kicked in and her blade was already moving toward the target, turning the excessive motion she had put into her first blow into the making of the second.

Again wood met wood, again her blow was deflected. It didn't matter.

She stepped forward and into his guard, the point of her bokuto aiming to the center of his chest. Mere centimeters away from the point of impact her sword was knocked aside, forcing her to sidestep and restore a proper stance.

This time surprise managed to brush her consciousness. Three times she had been thwarted. She could accept a stroke of luck or even a coincidence but she couldn't dismiss a third time as mere chance.

No matter. He was more skilled than she gave him credit for, but what did it matter? She was far from using the best of her abilities. She moved forward, her long silky mane whipping behind her.

One, two, three times she struck.

One, two, three times she was deflected.

Rage built inside her and she removed all stops. With speed that most humans would have trouble following she closed the gap between them, swinging her bokuto so fast it would most definitely break of few bones into his ribcage when the blow connected. Too bad for him, she thought, but he only had had to fall when she was just playing around.

*TONK!*

Motoko's mind halted abruptly, much like her sword did against Emiya's wooden sword, held downward between hers and his body.

"H-how?" she stuttered, staring incredulously at the point where the two swords where connected.

"Is that all?" he asked. There was no taunt in his voice, only supreme disappointment. If the sheer horror of realizing that he wasn't even having a hard time to keep up with her wasn't so overpowering, she might have been annoyed by it. "Then I believe it's my turn."

* * *

><p>Shirou's heart sank even further. Disappointment didn't begin to describe what he was feeling in that moment. Aoyama's movements were flawless, fluid and so polished that a Master swordsman would be more than happy to call her his disciple. Her talent was undeniable as was the amount of dedication she had put into her training and yet…<p>

Every blow was tainted by fear, the origin and direction of every blow was telegraphed to him well in advance by the not-so-subtle flow of her terror masked by fake resolve. She might have prevailed against someone who had no battle experience and wasn't attuned to read to flow of a fight but against him, someone who had _– withstood countless battles undefeated –_ it was entirely pointless. Nevermind the fact that he was used to fight entities that were far beyond human and that as such his body and reflexes were even more trained than her were.

It was unbearably ugly to witness.

So much talent, so much potential rotting under a thick layer of a fear hardened so much it had become an armor. That wasn't acceptable. Shirou could not accept the existence of such an ugly thing so he would have to crush it mercilessly for Aoyama's own good.

"Is that all?" he asked at the stunned woman whose sword was crossed with his. "Then I believe it's my turn."

As he moved to deliver the counter-attack he mused if this was how Gilgamesh felt when he looked at the modern world. He made a mental note of avoiding to turn into the same kind of arrogant bastard. Being a cynic jerk was still a much preferable option in his opinion.

* * *

><p>Blows rained on her so fast that she could barely follow them, and so powerful that her body shook and her hands hurt every time he hit her sword. She didn't have time to think, having only enough presence of mind to acknowledge that if her instinct hadn't been as honed as it was she couldn't have kept up.<p>

She was forced backward, spinning and twisting to either block or dodge. There was no room for retaliation, no space for a counterattack. She could only defend, her body burning under a strain so intense that she had never experienced before, not even at the hands of her sister.

That wasn't possible. There was no way that anyone short of a master of the sword could fight like that but Emiya couldn't be one. He didn't have the presence and she had never seen him practicing with a sword. A serious practitioner of the sword would never disregard a single day of training. The fact that he owned a bokuto was already a surprise to her but she hadn't given it much thought.

Now however she was beginning to reconsider. At this rate she was going to lose.

No. She would never lose. Not against a man. Not against him. She was strong! She still had many techniques to use. Even if it meant hurting him badly, she wouldn't lose to him.

Putting all of her strength into her legs she jumped away, ready to defend once more should he follow, but he didn't move. He remained where he was, with his sword lazily held at his side without any form or guard.

Rage swelled inside her, drowning all the soreness in her muscles and the burning in her lungs. He was looking down on her. He dared look down on her!

She wouldn't accept that. She could never accept that. Those eyes. Those goddamn eyes filled with contempt… She should just rip them away.

"Shinmei-ryu," she announced "Zanganken!"

The air rippled in front of her sword. A blade of concentrated ki exploded forward with the speed of a running car…

…and went lost in the woods, missing its target entirely. He just sidestepped the offending mass of ki without so much as a fuss.

"A ki strike," he mused looking at her blow ripping the tree branches and the bushes in its path to shreds. The manifestation of an intent coalesced by the user's fighting spirit. A remarkable skill to accomplish for someone so young."

"I have no needs for your compliments," she growled, glad that she was given a moment of respite.

"No, you have no need for that at all," he replied, gripping the hilt of his sword tighter. Motoko would have prepared for the undoubtedly coming attack, but she had barely time to blink.

Without any forewarning of movement ge disappeared from her sight. Her arm moved out of instinct, putting her sword between her and the blow that she never saw coming. Only when the two wooden blades met with a loud crack did she look up and into two golden orbs bearing down on her.

Again she was forced to defend. This second wave of strikes was far more vicious than the previous and her body screamed in protest for having to keep up with such an onslaught. She couldn't keep that up much longer, she realized. She had to turn the tide of the battle soon or she would end up being outlasted.

She forced herself to hold her ground, raising her bokuto to stop the vertical blow coming down on her. The sword collided with a loud crack. She had only a second to acknowledge the fire burning in her opponent's eyes before her bokuto shattered in a shower of splinters, forcing her to shut her own eyes and to fall on her back.

"No," she groaned, forcing herself backward and on her feet. Her hand reached for her faithful Shisui, resting into its scabbard at her side. She opened her eyes at the same time as the hiss of steel announced Shisui coming out of its resting place.

"That's enough Motoko," she heard Haruka shout. "Put your sword aw- Shirou?"

She looked at him, still standing on the spot where he had forced her to the ground. He had the palm of one hand turned to Haruka in a placating motion.

"Let it go, Haruka-san. It's fine."

"But…. Nevermind, just do what you want."

"Come on, Aoyama-san," he said turning to her, "Where is your confidence? What happened to your conviction? Is that all the Shinei-ryu can amount to…. Or is it you that's the problem?"

"Shut the hell up, YOU BASTARD!" she moved Shisui upward for a downward swing. "Take this! SHINMEI-RYU, **_Zanganken Ninotachi_**!"

The difference between this technique and the previous was evident to everyone witnessing it. The speed was much superior and the force of the strike was cutting apart the ground on its paths, sending debris of rock flying in every direction.

This time he wouldn't be able to dodge and parrying would be equally useless. A meager wooden sword could never withstand her strongest albeit incomplete technique.

However, her confidence was shattered in the matter of a second as Emiya didn't try to dodge nor defend. Instead he threw his bokuto away and stepped in the path of the blow with a fist cocked backward.

"Your spirit is weak!" he shouted. To Motoko's absolute disbelief and horror he punched _– punched! - _the mass of hostile intent coalesced by her fighting spirit and shaped into the form of a blade. Her attack exploded in a thunderous shockwave that sent everyone flying, with the exception of the person closest to its core, who by all means should have been ripped apart.

He stood there, with his fist still forward. The skin on his knuckles was barely scraped where it had met her raging technique.

Motoko could only stand there, eyes wide, with Shisui held in her trembling finger.

"No," she whispered to herself. "NO!"

She charged forward, intending to end it once and for all. There was no other way but to kill him. Even if he had been somehow capable to disperse her technique by unknown means he could still be pierced by sharp steel, just like anybody else.

She knew that he saw her coming, but instead of putting up his guard he remained there, arms at the side like he wasn't in any danger at all. It was the final straw and Motoko couldn't think any longer. Shisui flashed and hissed through the air, its tip aiming without fail between the eyes of the man she hated so much.

And there it stopped. Mere inches from his face, Shisui halted abruptly. Emiya's left hand was wrapped around the blade, holding the flat sides harmlessly between palm and fingers.

"Holy! Shit!" she heard someone say.

"Impossible," Motoko whispered dumbstruck.

"It's not impossible," Emiya said calmly, "if you have lightning fast reflexes and a grip of steel."

She pulled and pushed the blade repeatedly, trying to free it from his grasp but it didn't budge in the slightest. It was like Shisui had stabbed through the bark of a tree or right into a rock. It just wouldn't move.

"Give up, Aoyama-san," he said calmly. Only then it dawned onto her that the entire time he hadn't been serious at all. She never once pushed him to the point of making an effort. He didn't _– literally -_ even break a sweat.

But that was absurd, it had to be. She knew that there were plenty of fighters stronger that she was, her sister for instance, but they mostly were people who dedicated their lives to the art of the sword. Certainly this… man couldn't be one of them, not at such a young age.

"No," she protested. "I won't give –Ooof!"

He pushed the sword downward, digging the hilt as well as Motoko's hands beneath her sternum. Her grip slackened and she fell backward for the third time. Only when she hit the ground she realized that her sword was no longer in her hands.

She looked up and met his gaze looking down at her. She was at his mercy, disarmed and outmatched. She could only crawl away from his imposing form until she found herself with her back against a tree, unable to retreat any further.

"No," she shook her head. "No. No, no, no."

She desperately tried to refuse reality but his looming form bearing down on her gave her no respite. As if to twist the knife in the wound, Shisui spun between his fingers several times before it stopped with its hilt firmly in the palm of his hand. That was when the horror became so intense that she couldn't deny it anymore.

As the ultimate, unconceivable betrayal Shisui sang in its hand, humming like a diapason, rejoicing at the contact with his skin in a way it had never done with her in all the years it had been in her possession.

Motoko wanted to vomit. Her head felt dizzy and she couldn't think straight. In a matter of minutes her confidence had been shattered, the certainty of victory ripped out of her hands like her sword had been…

… her sword!

Only then, with undeniable defeat in front of her eyes she recalled what she promised to do should she lose the challenge.

"Yes," he confirmed cruelly as if reading her thoughts, "this is my victory, Aoyama-san."

He bent forward and smoothly plucked Shisui's scabbard from her waist. She offered no resistance whatsoever, unable to muster any strength, completely broken inside as she was. She could only stare ahead numbly.

"As agreed," he said sheathing the still humming sword, the sound of softly hissing steel not unlike a final goodbye, "your sword is now mine."

The click of the hilt touching the scabbard echoed in her ears like a shotgun, draining her of all remnants of hope.

Emiya turned on his heels and walked away, stopping only a few steps later and addressing her without turning back. "Live on as woman, Aoyama-san."

He left without another word, ignoring the gathered witnesses who rushed at her side. She couldn't hear their words though, busy as she was at crying her eyes out.

That was the day when Aoyama Motoko felt the bitter taste of defeat for the first time in her life. She didn't know that it wasn't the end of her life as a swordswoman as she thought it was, but just the first step of a series of events that would turn her life upside down more than it had already had.

* * *

><p>XXX<p>

* * *

><p>AN:

All right. I can already see all the protests coming my way for Shirou's steamrolling of Motoko.

Let's face it people: Motoko has more talent and more training with a sword than Shirou but he has far more real battle experience on top of being both faster and stronger. She had the edge of skill but he's far superior to her in power, speed, experience and willpower. She can and she will match his level later (much later) but it's a long way from now.

Again I invite you to ask all of your questions in the apposite page in my forum. I'd hate to answer seven times to the same question. The only thing I'm addressing in this note is:

"Why was Shirou constantly hit by Motoko if he's so much superior?"

The answer is still the same as always: MINDSET!

Just like it happened between Shirou and Gilgamesh in canon FSN:UBW, the right mindset makes all the difference between victory and defeat. As Shirou wasn't in the mindset to fight and since he's all but belligerent, Motoko always had the luxury of the first strike, but she never caught him twice consecutively.

That's it for now. See ya!


	10. Rusty Heart (III)

**Rusty Heart (III)  
>(Published: 03.07.2013– Beta: Sperance)<strong>

* * *

><p><em>The soft pattering of small naked feet on wood echoed through the mansion. Somehow, the little girl couldn't manage to sleep. No matter how much she twisted and turned, a cold chilling sensation didn't let her close her eyes at all.<em>

_Unable to find any rest, she did the only thing she could think of in such circumstances: she sought the comforting embrace of her parents. So she left her room and wandered the building, her feet carrying her through the dark corridor with familiar ease, straight to her parents' room._

_In the distance she could hear a strange sound, a loud rasping noise and the screeching of metal against metal. It got progressively louder as she proceeded further. She was getting scared but she reasoned that she would be safe once she reached her mother and father._

_She hastened her pace, the sounds getting louder and louder until, with a last wet, splattering sound, all fell silent, except of a dripping noise that chilled the child to the bones._

_She was almost there now. She could see the light peering from the half open door. Strange, she mused. Were they still up at that hour? Or maybe they heard the strange noises and woke up to see what caused them?_

_Now feeling more secure, she approached the door and looked inside._

_Crimson horror filled her eyes._

_"AAAAAAAHH!"_

* * *

><p>Motoko woke up with a silent scream, her eyes filled with tears that immediately ran down her cheeks.<p>

She gasped, trying to regain her breath and when she finally succeeded the next sound she emitted was a startled sob. For a moment her eyes sought the comforting shape of Shisui in the darkness of her room, but a couple of seconds of futile searching reminded her of the fiasco of two days earlier.

Helpless and without comfort, she curled into a ball under the cover of her futon, sobbing shamelessly at her own powerlessness.

She had lost. Everything that made her strong had been shattered with an ease that she couldn't begin to comprehend. The things she fought for, the strength she thought she possessed had been crushed as if they weren't even worthy of notice.

Her sword had been sealed, taken away from her, pried from her fingers without any resistance on her part. Not that it would have mattered if she had put up any struggle.

She had been bested, fair and square, in power, speed, skill and spirit. She hadn't been merely defeated: she had been crushed to dust along with her pride as a swordsman.

_'Live on as a woman,'_ he had told her in his triumph and she had no choice but to do so. Not only because that was exactly what she had promised she would do and going back on her word was worse than death for her, but also because she could no longer think of herself as able to hold a sword ever again.

Years of relentless, disciplined training served no purpose in front of a man that by his own admission had no formal martial arts training. All of her sweat, all of her efforts hadn't helped her in the slightest in front of her opponent's overwhelming ability. She thought herself to be strong, unbeatable but by a small number of individuals and her arrogance had been slapped in her face mercilessly.

She wasn't strong at all. She was weak, powerless. And as a weak person she should have lived. So she did the only thing weak person could do in her circumstances: she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

><p>The two days following the event known as "The Incident", but that Kitsune insisted in calling "The Trashing", passed in an awkward silence. Motoko's defeat at the hands of the formerly reputed tough-but-harmless manager had shifted their perception of the only resident male a great lot.<p>

In Kitsune's eyes, Motoko had always represented the peak of what human strength could achieve, sometimes even tethering on the edge of inhuman, even though Motoko always said her sister was much stronger than she was, Kitsune couldn't quite wrap her mind around such a concept. Then Emiya Shirou came and effortlessly steamrolled the one person Kitsune could never even imagine losing in a straight up fight.

She was of course sad for Motoko. Seeing the younger girl so heartbroken hurt even her, but she also thought that Motoko found exactly the trouble she had been looking for. However, the resident drunkard's thoughts were not for the defeated samurai but for the victor of their impromptu duel.

She just couldn't fit the character of Emiya Shirou in any of the little mental boxes she used to classify people. There were just too many unknown things about him to simply put him in the '_nice guy_' category and even though he clearly was in a sort of relationship with a foreign supermodel, he was definitely not a _'womanizer'_. He had proven himself to be insanely strong but did not show it until pushed into it, which meant that he wasn't a _'show off'._

So just who the hell was he? He defied Kitsune's every attempt to really outline his character. He was a complete mystery and if there was one thing Kitsune couldn't leave alone was a mystery. The journalist in her (not that many knew how she made a living) demanded her to find out more about this strange guy. She just knew there was a story worthy of being written laying there. She just had to uncover it.

Of course that meant starting from when he was separated by his original family. It looked like she would have to go through some very old newspapers.

* * *

><p>While Kitsune was lost in her own projects Shinobu was at an impasse. Truthfully, Emiya's display of strength left her more than a little troubled. In her opinion he was already a strong person, certainly stronger than she was, but ultimately he was a gentle person.<p>

The demon that fought against Motoko had seemly nothing do to with the image she made of him in her mind. Not that she suddenly thought he was a bad person just for it, but she had to admit that the image she had of him was a bit off target.

She was also a bit put off by the way he had left Motoko after the battle. It wasn't like the older girl hadn't gotten exactly what she had asked for, but Shinobu's heart still went out for her. Seeing the always composed swordswoman break down in tears really made Shinobu cringe, but Emiya had offered no words of consolation or encouragement; he just left. It was a little bit cruel in Shinobu's opinion. Still, he was not in the wrong either and that left the young girl not so much as disappointed but rather as greatly confused.

She was unable to come up with an answer to all of her questions, but she was too shy to simply walk up to him and ask him to explain why he acted like that. In addition she was mostly worried for Motoko, who hadn't left the room for two days except to use the facilities. She didn't even eat, even though Shinobu left a plate in front of her room at every meal. She didn't let anyone in her room but every time she passed in front of her door she could hear her choked sobs.

She wanted to help, she really wanted to help but she didn't know how. Maybe if she convinced Emiya to give back Motoko's sword everything would go back to normal? That sounded great but she didn't really know how to do it. Maybe… maybe she could ask Naru for advice? The brown haired girl was surely smart enough to figure out how to deal with this. Shinobu always relied on her when she didn't know what to do and she was sure that the older girl would be able to solve this situation as well.

* * *

><p>Speaking of Narusegawa Naru, the aspirant Toudai student didn't actually know how to deal with the present situation at all. The outcome of Motoko's duel with the manager was not what she had expected, even if she had warned her fellow tenant about the possibility of losing.<p>

Now Emiya's position within the Hinata-sou was absolutely consolidated and to make matters worse the other person who supported a male-free environment had been utterly destroyed. That was, of course, the minor problem. Even though Naru and Motoko weren't all that close, they were more than passing acquaintances and seeing her friend reduced to a wreck really bothered her, especially because she didn't know what to do.

Like it or not, Emiya had won fair and square and, while his cold behavior after the victory didn't earn him any points among the tenants, he hadn't really gloated about it either. In fact, he seemed to regard the whole exchange as an unpleasant business he was happy to have finished quickly.

Naru might have considered his behavior in a somewhat neutral if not positive light if he wasn't at least partially the cause of the sobs she could hear coming from the adjacent room.

Two days had passed and Motoko was still a shadow of her former self. Gone was the confident woman she had come to know, replaced by a scared girl that couldn't sleep at night and that wouldn't venture out of her room if not strictly necessary.

Motoko wouldn't let anyone in her room; even Naru was asked to leave after she had accompanied her back from the duel. She refused to speak with anyone and she refused to eat as well. Naru was seriously worried that she'd end up damaging her health before she came out of her depression.

She had to do something, anything to put a stop to this drama and there was just one thing she could think of that would solve the issue. She wasn't looking forward to the conversation, but she wouldn't leave her friend alone with her demons.

Not a chance.

* * *

><p>Truth to be told, the awkward atmosphere that followed his confrontation with Motoko didn't surprise Shirou in the slightest. He was a stranger intruding in a place that was not his home, even if he owned it. He couldn't blame Narusegawa and Aoyama for their mistrust and dislike. Who would like some strange guy suddenly barging in what amounted to be your home? It certainly didn't condone their slights toward him, but he could at least partially understand why they disliked him so much.<p>

It took him a while to carve his space among them and he wasn't even finished when Aoyama decided to solve their issues at sword point. He didn't regret his choice, even if now the other tenants were avoiding him more than after his arrival. Even Shinobu, who had always been quite welcoming and supportive, seemed to disappear when he was around and Suu stopped all attempts to ambush him as well.

This caused him to think of how Kiritsugu had been right all along. Power breeds conflict and for that reason it had to be secret as much as possible, not only whereas Magecraft was concerned. Just by looking at how he was being avoided after a display of swordsmanship within the boundaries of human's limits it was obvious that power was to be kept away from the general public unless it was strictly necessary. Hell, if they knew what he could do as a Magus they would certainly run away as fast as they could. It was much better to keep everything under wraps so not to cause unnecessary unrest, at least not more than he already had.

Hopefully he wouldn't have to resort to his skill set in front of the girls ever again and with a little time this entire debacle would be forgotten.

…Fat chance.

The door of his room slammed open, showing a determined Narusegawa standing in the doorframe. For a moment she looked about to assault him, but then she took a deep breath and relaxed.

"Something I can do for you, Narusegawa-san?"

"Please give it back," she asked with her arm and hand stretched out in front of her, palm up.

"Mh?"

"Please give Motoko back her sword, Emiya-san," she clarified. Behind her was Shinobu, who looked like she wanted to say the same thing but couldn't quite find her voice, opting to nod a couple of times instead.

"I see," he replied slowly. "Come in and take a seat, Narusegawa-san. You too, Shinobu-san."

Slowly, as if they were stepping into a lion's den, they both sat at the opposite end of his table, looking positively uncomfortable. Shirou pulled out the sheathed sword from where it was resting, behind a pile of books and placed it on the table.

"Emiya-san," Narusegawa began, her tone even, "I know that you won this sword fair and square but… Motoko is devastated without it. Please release her from her oath."

At her side Shinobu nodded frantically though she didn't dare to open her mouth. Shirou just sighed.

"I'm afraid you don't really understand what the matter at hand is. Even if I gave Shisui back to Aoyama-san and told her to continue to practice her family's sword style it wouldn't do her any good."

"But…"

"Here," he said handing over the blade. "Feel free to return it to her. I give it to you on the condition that if she refuses to take it back, you will return it to me."

"Really?" she asked, positively surprised by his ease to give away his trophy.

"Sure, but I give you a warning. Aoyama-san will _not_ be happy about this. Quite frankly, I think she will be rather cross with you just for thinking such a thing. If you really are looking out for her, you're going about this the wrong way."

"We'll see," she replied stubbornly. "Uh, thanks anyway. I didn't think you'd give it back so easily."

"You don't understand Aoyama's problem," he said slowly, "and you understand my motivations even less. Now if you don't mind I really need to go back to my studies."

They stood and left, Shinobu bowing politely as she closed the door. Shirou sighed again. It seemed that a little more unrest was needed before this entire ordeal could be put behind them and they all could move forward.

* * *

><p>"That went better than I expected," Naru said to Shinobu when the door behind them was closed.<p>

"Emiya-san is not a bad person," the younger girl replied timidly. "It's not his fault if things turned out like this."

"I guess not," Naru agreed reluctantly. "Come on, let's give Motoko her sword back."

They ran to the second floor and all the way to Motoko's room. There, Naru knocked a couple of times, but as expected she received no answer. Not that it would have deterred her from continuing with her course of action.

"Motoko? Motoko, I have something for you. I'm coming in."

She slid the door open and stepped inside. Motoko was no longer in her futon but she was sitting in front of the mirror, combing her hair with a dull expression on her face.

"What do you need, Naru-senpai?" the raven haired girl asked, voice void of any emotion.

"Look Motoko," she said holding up the sword. "I convinced…"

"Get it away from me," Motoko hissed, having caught a glimpse of Shisui in the mirror. "Get it out. OUT!"

Naru stumbled backwards in surprise, almost tripping on Shinobu as she did, the pure venom in Motoko's eyes shocking her to the core.

"But-!"

"OUT I SAID!"

Neither girl needed it to be said a third time. Both dashed out of the room, hastily closing the door behind them. Kitsune, having heard the ruckus from her adjacent room popped her head out of her door.

"What the hell was that all about?" the vulpine woman asked.

"I told you," Emiya said, coming up from the stairs with perfect timing as if he expected this outcome to happen exactly as it did. "You don't understand what Aoyama's problem actually is." He said sadly as he plucked Shisui out of Naru's hands.

"And you do?" she asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Only partially," he admitted. "But it's not my place to discuss it."

"Then…"

"Let it go, Narusegawa-san. This is something Aoyama-san has to deal with on her own."

"I… I just want to help my friend," the brown haired girl said dejectedly.

"I know you do, Narusegawa-san, but you must let her come to terms with what happened first. Without understanding what she's going through you're just going to make things more difficult for her."

"… This is all your fault," she hissed accusingly. "If you hadn't come here nothing of this would have happened and we would have been just fine."

"Narusegawa-san, I'll gladly take responsibility for what happened, since it was my choice to accept Aoyama's challenge," he said calmly, "but I will not take blame for something she sought of her own volition. We must all live assuming the consequences of our choices."

Without another word he spun and returned from where he came from, completely disregarding the glare of the woman behind him.

* * *

><p>After that incident things more or less settled within the dorm. Aoyama still didn't eat at the table with the rest of the tenants and Narusegawa's glare was honed onto Shirou every time they were in the same room. Shirou was more or less unfazed by her hostility, used as he was at being stared down by being far scarier than she could ever hope to be in several lifetimes. Heck, having been in the presence of Berserker and surviving a close encounter with Angra Mainyu had pretty much ruined his capacity of being unnerved by anything mundane.<p>

Still, that didn't mean it was pleasant to withstand so he avoided her as much as possible, which meant that they would only meet during meals. The situation wasn't about to be solved on its own, but Shirou didn't really know how to assuage the brown haired girl, mostly because the only thing that would placate her was Aoyama coming out of her shell or him dying in a bout of self-combustion, preferably both.

With the likelihood of the latter being rather low Shirou could only hope that Aoyama would recover soon, for the sake of everyone under the Hinata-sou's roof.

Motoko finally came out of her room two more days later and went straight to school without so much as a greeting to the other tenants. She seemed relatively calm on the surface but anyone who knew her well enough could tell that she was tense as a violin's string. Being completely weaponless after having a sword constantly by her side for all her life made her feel extremely defenseless and this didn't escape the notice of the other girls. Even the ever-cheerful Kaolla had a look of compassion on her face at the sight of her distressed friend. Still, there was pretty much nothing all of them could do except showing their support at every chance.

* * *

><p>Overall it took Motoko four days to gain a modicum of control over her emotions and even then the best she could do was float in a sort of apathy, a dull state of mind void of any emotion. It was still a very frail balance that threatened to shatter under the slightest strain. The mere possibility of being in presence of a man without means to defend herself was a chilling thought she could hardly stand, but when it came to be in presence of Emiya she almost immediately slipped in the same panicked state she was in the hours following her defeat.<p>

She avoided him like the plague and he made no effort to cross her path either. In hindsight she realized that with all the strength he had it was not her sword that kept him at a distance but rather the fact that he had no hostility or ill intent in her regards to begin with. That did very little to assuage her fear. It wasn't like she wasn't used to apparently well-meaning men suddenly showing their true colors when she least expected it.

Then again she couldn't avoid him forever. Living under his roof she was bound to interact with him at one point or another, but she wasn't yet ready to face the man who had crushed her convictions so easily and she couldn't go back either. Going back to that place was even worse that living in disgrace at the Hinata-sou.

Besides, she was bound to live as a woman and she had to show that she had every intention of proving that while he might have stripped her of her sword she would not lose her honor as well. It would take her some time to get adjusted but she would not fail in that.

She went to school the morning of the fifth day more or less ready to face the consequences of her choices starting from the friends she had failed so badly.

"W-what 's the meaning of this Motoko-senpai?" asked the second year student Sachiko, the most probably candidate to the captainship of the Kendo club when Motoko graduated from high school.

"It is how it seems, Sachiko," she replied sadly. "I can no longer participate in the activities of this club."

Her declaration caused an uproar among the members of the exclusively female club.

"I- I don't understand. What brought his up all of a sudden? The regional tournament is coming up in a month… there's no way we can win it without you. What happened?"

"I… I have lost the right to wield a sword in a honor duel. I have lost… to a man."

The chattering stopped immediately, falling in a stunned silence.

"The captain lost a duel?" somebody asked to no one in particular.

"N- no way… Who could beat someone as strong as her?"

"He can't be a human…"

"Motoko-senpai," Sachiko objected "even if you lost a duel that doesn't mean you have…"

"I must. I have waged my right to hold a sword believing that I could best my opponent with little effort but I was the one being defeated with ease instead. Now I must honor my promise. I'm sorry." Motoko bowed deeply to her kohai, knowing perfectly how much she had let them all down.

No one said anything else and Motoko simply left the building, never to return. No one saw the tears running down her cheeks.

To say Motoko's ordeal at school was over and done would be a lie. Even if she never actually flaunted her skills, preferring the silent humbleness of a samurai, Motoko was very well known by her schoolmates. Her appearance aside she was renown at national levels as a rising star in the world of Kendo but within the school she was infamous for having purged the club from all males after shaming them over and over in combat. Only a handful of boys resisted for a couple of years but in the end they all left with their dreams in pieces.

That however didn't mean they had left school on top of being run out of the club and the news of Motoko losing her right as a swordsman in a duel spread like wildfire among the student body, with obvious results.

"Did you hear? Aoyama lost a duel to a man."

"Whoa! That Aoyama? You gotta be kidding me."

"Serves her right, that bitch."

Surprise soon degenerated in snide remarks and the former club members made a point of discussing her downfall within hearing range of her. A few even _'accidentally'_ bumped into her down the corridors at school, apologizing for their distraction but with a smirk of satisfaction when she flinched away from their touch instead of reprimanding them harshly for getting too close.

With the exception of the few members of the kendo club she was actually close to, everyone made fun of her in more or less overt manner, either out of a grudge or out of envy for her talent with a sword and her beauty.

She actually hadn't realized how popular she was with the student body until that popularity became the reason of her discomfort. By the end of the day it was a miracle that she had not cried for the treatment she received. However, when the classes were over she immediately returned to the dorm without speaking with a single shutting herself in her room as soon as she arrived.

Then and only then she allowed her tears to fall unbidden.

* * *

><p>The next morning<p>

The first sign that something had changed was the smell of burnt early in the morning. Shirou snapped awake as the foul smell reached his nostrils and he immediately run of the room and in search of the source of the fire. He was welcomed by a black cloud that rapidly expanded from the kitchen.

He reached for the fire extinguisher as he run there… only to stop in his tracks when he met the odd sight of one Aoyama Motoko, with a disgruntled expression on her face, engaged in something that resembled cooking… if cooking ever came to dual-wield a pair of frying pans as if they were flaming swords of doom.

She seemed to be quite panicked and not at all able to decide what to do with the pans-from-hell she was currently holding, running in circles around the kitchen table and squealing something that resembled..

"Awa-wa-wa-wa!"

Yes, something like that. It was such an un-Aoyama-ish thing that Shirou couldn't quite wrap his mind around what he was seeing. His body just acted on auto pilot and he sprayed the content of the extinguisher of the panicking girl and the weapons in her hands.

"Buh!" she grunted as she took the brunt of the pressure and fall on her back, skidding a few meters backwards.

"Aoyama-san, are you all right?" Shirou asked as he rushed at her side. At the sound of his voice she snapped back on her feet holding the blackened kitchen tools in front of her like a barrier to separate them.

"IIwastryingtocookbreakfastbu tIgotsomethingwrongandeveryt hingwentonfireandIdidntknoww hattodosoIpanickedsoImsorrys orrysorry."

She said all of that in a single panicked squeak while she backed away, mindful of keeping the table between them until she was both out of the kitchen and out of view.

"…. Uh?" he asked dumbly to no one in particular, thought the smell had awakened the other tenants who had seen at least part of the surreal event that had just taken place. No one was able to provide any explanation for what happened so they just decided to see if anything like happened again or if it was just a onetime occurrence that they would one day chalk up to a dream caused by indigestion or by an excessive amount of alcohol, though the latter excuse applied only to Kitsune.

Sadly that was not the case as more and more odd episodes involving the former swordswoman started to happen.

* * *

><p><em>Operation: Live as a Woman #1<em> had failed spectacularly. Admittedly she didn't have much experience at cooking… which is to say none at all. Back in Kyoto there were people that took care of everyday's household tasks and even at the Hinata-sou it fell upon Shinobu and most recently Emiya to care of the meals…

That Emiya bested her in tasks that traditionally were relegated to women irked her to no end. Did he have to surpass her in every field?... Fine… he was a great opponent even out of the battlefield, she could admit that, but she would not lose nor give up that easily. Not a chance.

_Operation: Live as a Woman #2_ was about to begin.

* * *

><p>"KYAAAA!" Shinobu cried in the general direction of the laundry. Hero instincts kicking into high gear, Shirou abandoned his books and rushed on the crime scene only to stumble upon a show of modern art… if you could consider as such a bunch of freshly washed laundry hanged up to dry… laundry that had definitely been through a washing cycle or two without taking into consideration minor details such as colors, materials and temperature, resulting in a mishmash of blurred colors and general shapelessness.<p>

It came as no surprise that upon this sight Shinobu had fallen of her knees in despair and horror, especially considering that most of the ruined pieces of clothing belonged to her. However she wasn't alone in her despair as at her side was yet again Aoyama, holding a pair of panties that used to be white but were now a strange mixture of purple and yellow that made even Shirou cringe just by looking at it. Such violence upon innocent pieces of clothing was not something one could withstand without discomfort.

However neither Shirou's or Shinobu's expressions were as horrified as the culprit's. The look on Aoyama's face was a mixture of emotions that mirrored the pieces of clothing she had so horridly deformed. Guilt, disappointment, more guilt, fear and yet more guilt marred her visage.

"Wh-wh," Shinobu hiccupped. "Whaaaaaaa!"

"Nooooooo!" Aoyama screamed in dismay before she could take no more of and run out, away from the scene, leaving behind a weeping Shinobu and a shell-shocked kanrinin with no clues as how to deal with the situation.

* * *

><p><em>'Whaaaaa!'<em> Motoko cried inwardly as she threw herself on her futon. _Operation: Live as a Woman #2_ went even worse than _#1_. She made Shinobu cry, one of the most despicable things anyone could do and on top of that she made herself look like a fool in front of Emiya once more. Damn it, damn it, damn it. Why was he always so fast to appear when she failed at something?

Granted, she didn't expect anything less than a quick reaction from one such as him, but it was infuriating that his speed with a sword carried over in his task as manager. She couldn't even make a minor slip that he was already there to witness her shortcomings.

Not good. Definitely not good. She couldn't afford to keep failing so abysmally and every step and turn. After all, even if she lacked something to truly be a sword user she was at least _born_ a woman. If she failed at being something she was born as what would she be left with? Nothing, that's what.

Next time she absolutely had to succeed without mistakes. Maybe… maybe she'd have to ask for help to someone who was more in touch with her feminine side?

* * *

><p>As it turned out, the laundry incident wasn't the last event concerning the former swordswoman. Just a day after her failed attempt at household chores, the raven haired beauty could be seen zooming up and down the corridors of the Hinata-sou on her hands and knees, waxing the floor with a rag in the traditional way.<p>

Naturally, while that odd sight alone would have been enough to raise a few eyebrows, what made the scene to be absolutely surreal was the near superhuman speed at which she moved and, most of all, her choice in attire.

She was wearing a French maid outfit of all things, short enough to draw the interest of a fetishist but still long enough not to be scandalous. Anyway, it was still a sight so out of the world that even Shirou, who had grown accustomed to Illya's shenanigans, was utterly dumbstruck.

That condition applied to the other tenants as well with the exception of Kitsune, who was grinning broadly at the display. On top of the lack of surprise on the resident fox's face, her unbidden amusement was all the hint Shirou needed to know who had provided Aoyama with the outfit she was currently wearing.

He was about to inquire why did she even have something like that, much less why she had given it to the former swordswoman when said person's latest attempt at household chores was foiled by the slippery wax she had previously laid down.

"KYAAAAA!" she screamed as she went flying, her body carried by the momentum of her speed, all the way down the corridor causing her to slam against and through the thin wall at the end of it with a thunderous crash.

"Motoko! Aoyaoma-san!" they all shouted rushing to her side. In spite of the noise she made she was wounded only in her pride, though it seemed to be a pretty serious injury because when she stood back on her feet, eyes filled with tears. "Wh-wh- Waaaaahh," she cried as she run away fast enough to lift dust in her wake.

Damn, Shirou cursed inwardly, this way going well beyond what he thought he would happen. He had to solve the situation before it spiraled even further down with unpredictable results.

* * *

><p>Motoko run out of the inn and into the forest behind it. With her sight blurred by tears she almost run in a few trees in her mad escape from the scene of her latest failure.<p>

Why? Why had everything gone so wrong? She had tried her best but everything she did kept backfiring on her. Even as a woman she failed. How could simple things such as mere household chores that Shinobu could perform flawlessly be beyond her ability?

She was so useless that she felt she should just drop dead once and for all.

Instead, she just run and run until she could run no more, stopping only once she reached a small rocky clearing that opened on the top of a waterfall several meters high; a place she used to frequent daily to practice with her sword. With tears still falling from her eyes she slowly walked toward the edge and stared down.

She felt so useless. She had failed as a kendoka and as a woman. By all means she couldn't find a single reason why she should keep on living, yet in spite of that she did want to live. Surprisingly she wasn't afraid of death but her mind refused the option of just running away. She couldn't take the easy way out no matter how purposeless she was feeling.

With a resigned sigh she took a step back from the edge… and her foot slipped on the wet stone beneath it. With all the prowess of a skilled martial artist she regained her footing easily by taking a step forward, just a few scant inches from a deadly fall.

... That was close.

**_Crrr…ack!_**

The rock under her feet crumbled and with her weight still leaning forward she could not step back. Gravity claimed her and in a flash she was over the edge.

… Then she stopped. With a single foot still on safe ground her fall was halted. Only after two seconds the impossibility of such a thing sunk into her mind and only another second afterward did she register the firm grip around her wrist.

She turned her head and her eyes locked on a well know golden gaze. She almost recoiled in surprise and terror, almost throwing herself off the edge when she recognized her savior but his firm grasp didn't allow her to move an inch.

Panic settled into her chest. Behind her was certain death. Before her was the incarnation of her nightmares: the one man she could not best, the man who forced her to realize that the fears she considered long surpassed were just waiting for her to slip and acknowledge her own weakness.

She tried to push away from him, completely uncaring if it meant falling to her death. She had to get away… NOW!

Spinning on her foot she lashed out at him, hitting him with a backhanded slap that forced him to turn his head to the side. Blood fell from his lips but his hold didn't relent. She kicked him in the sides and then shifted for a kick to the face that connected with his skull with a loud crack. Still he didn't let go nor he returned any of her attacks.

"How far from you fears do you want to run, Aoyama-san?" he asked her in a calm, even soothing tone. "Will death be far enough or even in the afterlife are you just going to keep running?"

Rage surged into her chest at his words. How could he understand her so deeply? For that matter how did he _dare_ to understand her so deeply? What right did he have to point out her weaknesses just by existing? From the very first day it looked like he could gaze without difficulty upon her soul and look at all the things she had hidden and hidden from equally.

She had no defense against him, neither physically nor mentally, so she did the only thing she always did when cornered: she attacked.

Again and again she struck at him, her blows connecting each and every time without effort. She had hit him at least ten times when her rage cooled down a little and she realized the oddity of it all. She had some training in barehanded combat but they were nowhere close to her skills with a blade. There was no way she could hit so many times an opponent that outclassed her in both power and speed, even if she had taken him by surprise.

It wasn't possible… unless he was letting her hit him on purpose. Then and only then she turned back and saw that her in her fury she had kept attacking him until she had pushed him (and herself) several meters away from the cliff.

She didn't understand!  
>She didn't understand!<br>She didn't understand!

This man defied all she had come to believe about herself and the world in general. Only now that her confusion was no longer centered upon herself she came to realize that nothing of what she had expected from him had happened.

Before the duel she had thought that it was her strength and skills that restrained him from showing his most perverse behaviors, but when after her defeat she had been too focused on her own misery to realize that in the days after nothing of what she imagined he would do with her out of the way had happened.

He did not force himself upon her nor the others. He didn't indulge in perverse behavior knowing that no one would punish him. He did not use his authority and right as a manager to impose his will upon her and the other tenants. In fact, save for a minor adjustment in behavior in the dorm's public area nothing had changed since his arrival.

No, that wasn't true. As soon as he settled he did his best as a manager to improve their living conditions either by repairing what needed to be fixed around the building or by taking his fair share of the chores, lift a good portion of Shinobu's burdens. He had been stern with them, standing firm on his decisions but otherwise not challenging them unless they went out of their way to challenge him first.

Every time a conflict between them arose for a reason or another it was never initiated by him and every time he dealt with the problem with the minimum required strength, never again mentioning the issue afterward.

He did not gloat about his success.  
>He did not lord his authority over them.<br>He did not take advantage of his strength.  
>He did not fight back so that she would not fall to her death.<p>

And yet he mercilessly goaded her into waging the thing she valued most and then crushed her without a effort.

It didn't make sense. _He_ didn't make sense. All her efforts to understand this man before her were useless. What was he trying to… !

… N-no way!

* * *

><p><em>"Motoko, take this with you," the raven haired beauty said offering the sheathed blade to her younger sibling.<em>

_"Onee-sama, are you sure? Shisui is your favorite sword."_

_The elder sister smiled warmly and gently placed the blade in her sister hands._

_"Since the foundation, Shisui has been wielded by those who aspired to claim the title of heir of the Shinmei-ryu. It was forged and was passed down our family for the sole purpose of guiding those of our blood on the road of swordsmanship. I am sure that if it will ever come a time when you'll find yourself unable to advance on this path, its voice will show you the right direction. Of this I have no doubt."_

* * *

><p>Resonance of Steel, the diapason-like phenomenon that manifested when the intent of a sufficiently skilled wielder was attuned with the spirit that resides within a blade. It was the ultimate proof of the resolve of a swordsman, the undeniable truth of one's intention.<p>

… But if her sister was correct, if Shisui sang only to show those of Aoyama's blood the correct path toward mastership, did it mean that all this time Emiya was…?

Could it that being separated from her sword was what she needed to advance as a kendoka? Could it be that living as a woman, the one thing she had refused to do, was what she lacked to reach her wish to surpass her sister?

Could it be that Emiya saw all that, understood all that and when she tried to force him out of his own property he turned the situation against her… for her own sake? Back then and even now it was all for her sake?

Impossible. It was just… impossible. It had to be. Because if there wasn't a mistake somewhere in this reasoning then it would mean that all of this time she had been mistaken about him. That she was wrong.

She never once entertained the thought that she could have been mistaken in her judgment about someone's character. In the wake of her defeat she had only pondered her weakness and her opponent's strength, but she never once considered that her decision to challenge him might have been the product of a misjudgment on her part.

The weight of such revelation was too much of her to bear and she fell on her knees, sitting unceremoniously on the rock hard ground. Before her Emiya too sat, cross-legged, just half a meter away from her. His face was bloodied and more than just a little swollen where she had hit him, yet his eyes bore no resentment toward her for the pain she had inflicted upon him. All she could see reflected into those golden orbs was warmth and concern…

… concern for her.

The last remnants of Motoko's convictions about life and people in general finally crumbled completely. She didn't know what was right and what was wrong anymore, how many things she had come to take as truth were actually lies. She didn't know anything anymore.

No… that wasn't right. There was one thing she had recently come to be certain about. One single truth that had shattered all the lies she had surrounded herself with: she could trust this man before her.

It was such a sudden and distant realization from her usual beliefs that she almost felt like laughing at her epiphany. Instead all she could do was cry again, leaning forward to rest her forehead against his chest in a show of trust she never thought possible in regard of any men.

"I'm sorry," she said between sobs and hiccups, "I'm sorry."

What she was apologizing for, she didn't know exactly. The times and ways she had wronged him in the past few weeks were too many for her to count and something as simple as an chocked out apology didn't seem enough to convey the magnitude of her regret but perhaps…

"It's okay."

… perhaps he didn't need to hear anything else to understand. Probably he didn't even need for her to apologize at all because he seemed to understand her better than she could.

For the longest time Motoko remained there, crying her eyes out. Yet, in spite of her inner turmoil the burden that had crushed her for so many years seemed to melt away with each tear. She was still confused and lost but somehow there was now something she could use to rebuild herself again and move past all pain and fear that plagued her life.

Who would have thought that such a thing could have been a man by the name of Emiya Shirou?

* * *

><p>XXX<p>

* * *

><p>AN:<p>

Writing this story is HARD! Enough said. Meshing together two universes so different like FSN and Love Hina trying to respect them both is a bitch!

I'm sorry for the long time between updates but it can't be helped. Even if I have to plot more or less figured putting it into word is the most difficult thing. I hope this chapter managed to balance humor and seriousness well enough without sounding strained.

I can only hope.

That's it. See ya


	11. Rusty Heart (IV)

**Rusty Heart (IV)**  
>(Published: 03.20.13 - Beta: Obiki Doragon)<p>

* * *

><p>It took Motoko quite some time to regain control of her emotions but Emiya didn't seem like he was in any hurry. When she finally stopped crying and stood back on her feet the only thing he said was:<p>

"Shall we head back?"

She just nodded in response. Her throat was a bit too sore to speak and she was feeling quite embarrassed for her emotional breakdown. They walked back together silently, almost side by side at a much slower pace compared to the speed she used in her escape. It would probably take more than a few minutes before they got back at the inn.

It was just fine with Motoko. She had a number of things to think about, even more than she did the previous day. She knew now that her perceptions of the world were at least partially mistaken. Emiya's upstanding, almost Buddha-like, behavior had showed her that not every man was a vicious fiend waiting for her to drop her guard to assault her.

He probably was a unique exception to the norm, for no normal man would go at such lengths for the sake of someone who had repeatedly offended and tried to harm him without just cause.

But even if he was unique there was no denying that her judgment of him had been completely mistaken. Each and every time an issue with him arose involving a woman she automatically assumed he was in the wrong, that his intents were less than pure.

She might not have been mistaken each and every time a man approached her, but how many men had she pushed away with her sword thinking they had ulterior motives? How many had she struck with her sword, thinking their relentless courting would turn to harassment if given the opportunity?

Obviously she couldn't tell. She always struck before any of those men could prove their true colors and she did so out of sheer prejudice. How shameful. No wonder she hadn't been able to see that Emiya was much stronger than her with a sword. Her pride and her misconceptions had blinded her to the truth and she rushed head first in a situation that might have ended much worse, if her opponent's objective wasn't merely to open her eyes.

But open her eyes to what? Of course she now realized that she had been mistaken in passing judgment before the targets of her wrath could truly prove themselves, but realizing that simply meant she stopped walking down the wrong path. The problem now was finding the right direction to move.

'Live on as a woman,' Emiya told her and Shisui agreed with him, apparently. But what did it mean to live as a woman? For all of her life she wanted to avoid doing exactly that, preferring to become a master in the way of the sword. After all, every woman close to her who had decided to embrace her femininity had…

Never mind that! She had already ascertained that it was a misconception, that her experience was flawed and she had made no effort to broaden her horizons, opting to hide behind her blade each time an exponent of the opposite gender approached her. Yes, in hindsight being forcefully separated from Shisui was exactly what she needed to actually face her fears and grow as a person.

That Emiya-san had been able to see past her aggressive behavior and realize what she needed, taking steps to set her on the right path even when she was trying do him harm, was both humbling and awe-inspiring. She could not begin to fathom the depths of this man's soul, but from now on she would make sure to keep an eye on him all the time, even if it was for a reason completely different than the first time she resolved to do exactly that. Truly, her life had been turned upside down more than she had realized and even if she was still unsure and more than a little scared, for the first time in a long while she didn't regret it at all.

* * *

><p>When they finally arrived at the inn they found the rest of the tenants debating loudly about going out to look for them, only to abruptly drop the conversation when they walked in.<p>

"Motoko, are you all right?" Naru asked rushing at her side but glancing somewhat worriedly at Shirou as she did so.

Shirou just stepped past her and the others like nothing unusual had happened, heading toward his room. He wasn't feeling like explaining why his face was wounded, they could figure it out if they examined the trend of the past few days. Moreover he didn't want to explain why those wounds would disappear in a matter of minutes. The working of Avalon within him could only be slowed down by cutting Prana to it but eventually his wounds still healed much faster than normal. He'd put some bandages and gauze on his face and pretend to be healing normally. No need to attract any more attention to himself than he already did.

When he came out of his room half an hour later his face was covered with gauzes simulating the swollenness beneath them with a few layers of bandages. He would keep them for a day at least and if anyone brought up his fast healing he would simply dismiss it as his wounds being less serious than they looked. It wasn't the first time he spun that particular story after all.

He was pretty much sure that this had been the apex of the incident with Aoyama, as he was sure that the young woman had enough steel in her to find her balance once more and start anew.

The poor hapless idiot couldn't even begin to imagine how deep the grave he dug for himself actually was. He would, however, realize it very soon.-

* * *

><p>"Motoko, what happened?" Naru asked worriedly. "Did he do something to you? If he has so much as touched a hair on your head I'm going to-"<p>

"Naru-senpai," she said calmly, frowning at her accusation of Emiya. Did she also sound so unbelievably annoying when she ranted about him before? "Nothing happened with Emiya-san. He did not act in an untoward manner at all."

"But his face…"

"That was entirely my fault," she said sounding honestly chagrined at the memory. "I have yet again misunderstood a situation and unjustly lashed against him. Thankfully he accepted my apologies and does not hold any resentment toward me."

"Oh, um... well, that's nice," Naru finally settled to say with a look on her face that was mixture of surprise and disbelief.

"Naru-senpai, I understand your opinion of Emiya-san but I came to understand that he's nothing like anyone I ever met before. I don't think I could explain it in a way that made sense but I believe that he would never raise a hand against a woman or anyone else first. He is… honorable and trustworthy."

"Motoko! This is the guy who took away your sword, remember?"

"He is not," Motoko replied flatly. "It was not him who took away my sword from me, Naru; rather it was I who foolishly lost sight of what meant to hold a blade. Emiya-san merely picked up what I dropped without even noticing."

"But-but-but… That makes no sense! Motoko, what has he done to make you to behave like this?"

"What has he done, you say? He put up with me when I acted like a child and demanded things that did not belong to me. He has put up with me, when all did was try to find him at fault with anything and everything only to blame him for my failing at doing exactly that. He put up with me when I shamelessly tried to kill him because he had proven himself to be stronger than me with a sword. That is what he has done, Naru."

"I- I see…" Naru replied with no little amount of shame. After all she did some of those same things as well. "I-I guess we really did act out of the line with him, did we?"

But at least it seemed that the older girl was able to realize her own errors without going at the same lengths Motoko had to be pushed.

"Yes, I'm afraid we did. No matter how negative our previous experiences with men in general have been, I came to realize that we have taken too many things for granted and never tried to understand how much we were in the right and how much we were in the wrong."

"We should apologize, I think."

"I have already done so," Motoko replied with her usual monotone voice only slightly tinged with shame, "though I don't believe that a simple apology is enough to make up for how I behaved."

"Motoko-senpai," Shinobu said timidly, "I think that Emiya-san wouldn't mind if you just apologized sincerely."

"No," Motoko shook her head, "he has already accepted my apology and as I said he does not hold any grudge toward me. I don't think he ever held one in the first place."

She went silent for a moment then broke in a bitter chuckle.

"What is it?" Naru inquired, not missing the dark tinge in her voice.

"Don't you realize? All the efforts we put to oust him or to force him to comply with our demands we have been acting like children who couldn't have the treat they wanted and whined pointlessly about it, while the adult kept doing what he was supposed to do without making a fuss out of our antics. He never once returned our pettiness and never once lowered himself at out level or gave in to our demands without a good reason." She gave a long, weary sigh. "What have I been doing with my life until now?"

"Wow, Motoko-chan," Kitsune cut in with her usual cheerfulness, though it was evident she was trying to raise the mood, "that's some deep insight you got going there, but aren't you being too harsh with yourself?"

"I think I have not been harsh enough, if I have to be honest. Emiya-san has been far too accommodating with me… with us until now. Regardless of what is our personal opinion of our manager, I believe he has at least earned, no, he deserves at least a modicum of respect on our part."

Shinobu nodded vigorously in agreement, though she was the only person to get along with Emiya without a fuss and even Kitsune seemed to be at least considering the thought. Kaolla was just listening and smiling like she usually did, even if Motoko was of the opinion it didn't reach her eyes and that she was contemplating something else entirely. She never did understand that odd girl completely, even if they did get along quite well in spite of their extremely different characters, but in hindsight the number of things she knew she didn't understand had increased conspicuously in the past few days.

"Well, I suppose I should at least try to get along with him, shouldn't I?" Naru asked rhetorically, scratching her check with one finger and gazing awkwardly to the side. "We did give him a rough time since he arrived, after all."

"Yes, that is certainly something no one could ever deny. Well, then. I shall return to my room. There are many things I need to ponder."

"Right…Motoko? If you need to talk or anything, don't be afraid to ask, alright?"

"I'll do that. Thank you, Naru-senpai."

* * *

><p>"Well, that was different," Kitsune said casually. "Never thought I'd see the day when Motoko-chan would admit she misjudged a man.<p>

Personally Naru agreed with her old-time fried. Quite frankly she did understand Motoko point of view and to a degree she also shared it. They did make life difficult for the new manager, and frankly he probably didn't deserve half of that. Yes, she still felt like he was an intruder but then again he made no secret of feeling like one too.

It was indeed childish, Naru agreed, that they needed him to keep the dorm from going back to be an inn but at the same time not wanting him around them at all. It was like wanting the cake and eating it too. Sure they didn't start on the right foot, if she wanted to use an euphemism, but it was only them who didn't let go of the issue even weeks after the fact and it was them again who tried every day to find him at fault for something only making a fool out of themselves in the process.

Just like children, trying to outsmart an adult. She held onto a perceived slight that was actually no one's fault and clung to it desperately trying to find in it confirmation of her beliefs over the male gender in general.

That wasn't fair to Emiya. That wasn't fair to anyone and she knew it, not even herself. Moreover she considered herself to be better than that. It was also high time to prove it… if only she found the courage to do so.

* * *

><p>Motoko's life returned to a measure of normalcy after her emotional breakdown, but she was nowhere close to be at peace with herself. She still didn't sleep very well; spending long hours awake into her futon thinking about the meaning of living as a woman.<p>

So she thought about it.

She thought about it at breakfast.  
>She thought about it at school. <em>- "Aoyama-san, please pay attention." - "Gomennasai, sensei!"<br>_She thought about it at lunch.  
>She thought about it on her way home - <em>"Hey! Watch were you're going, damn it. Kids these days."<br>_She thought about it at home.  
>She thought about it at dinner. - <em>"Waaah, it's hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!" - "Here, have some water!"<br>_She thought about it in her futon.

So yes, thinking about it was pretty much everything she did and as a result of her effort the answer she obtained was…absolutely nothing.

Three days of relentlessly searching for answers only served to wear her out completely until she could think no longer. No matter how much thought she put into it, the answer kept eluding her.

She had to ask someone for help, but who?

Kitsune was out of the question. Her advices only served to dig a deeper grave for whoever went asking for them. Naru had her own issues when it came to genders, so that pretty much excluded her as well. Shinobu… well, she was indeed female and without issues about it, but she was far too young and naïve to have the answer Motoko was looking for. Kaolla… just… never mind that. Something in Motoko's brain told her that it was a bad idea from the get-go. Haruka was a woman, but to be quite honest she hardly ever showed an ounce of femininity, though Motoko would not tell her she thought so. Ever!

The last person she could think of was her sister, but asking such question to her was like admitting something was wrong and Motoko didn't want anyone from back home to put their noses in her life right now. It would be the worst possible disaster.

She was at an impasse, then. There was no one else she could ask… Wait a moment! Of course there was someone with the answer close by. Why didn't she think of it sooner?

Without even stopping to consider her choice she hastily put on her hakama and stormed out of the room, looking for her target!

* * *

><p>Shirou's realization that things with Aoyama weren't quite solved came bursting out of his nose one evening after dinner. Well, what actually burst out of his nose was just tea, scorching hot tea to be precise, but the two events were closely related.<p>

Now, Shirou had become rather skilled in dealing with sudden and unexpected situations with an emotionless face, but as a man there were things he couldn't just dismiss so easily.

Things such as a determined Aoyama Motoko, with bags under her eyes, storming toward him while he was sitting with Shinobu in the kitchen, and slamming her hands on the table as she bowed, saying something that sounded remarkably like:

"Emiya-san, please make me into a woman!"

Cue tea shooting out of Shirou's and Shinobu's nostrils. Now, it might have been his mind playing tricks on him, but taking into consideration Shinobu's reaction he was fairly sure he hadn't misheard what Aoyama had just said. Therefore, the only appropriate response he could come up with, as soon as his drink finished to vacate his nostrils was a horrendous cough.

Granted, it wasn't much of an answer but it did manage to convey his great confusion. To be honest, he did know that what she meant wasn't what she actually said, but there is such a thing as proper wording. Aoyama could have definitely found a better way to phrase her request, a concept that Shinobu was more than willing to explain to the older girl.

"M-M-Motoko-senpai!" she shrieked indignantly, her face ablaze with embarrassment. "Please think about what you just said."

Motoko glanced at Shinobu in confusion, and then looked at Shirou who was still trying to regain his bearings with little success. Finally comprehension seemed to dawn upon her as her eyes widened and her face lit up in a shade of red that could not be healthy, unless she had a tomato ancestor.

"Ah... no… that's not what I meant at all. Oh, god. How shameful. I'm sorry, Emiya-san. I just… I'm sorry!"

Her embarrassment having reached obviously unsustainable levels, Motoko opted to bow in apology and then run out of the room as fast as she had arrived, almost bumping in a shocked Naru and a grinning Kitsune who seemed to have overheard their conversation as they passed by the kitchen.

"Well, Shirou-kun," the resident fox said, looking at the still recovering manager, "you're good. A week ago she wanted to kill you, now she wants to jump your bones. What's your secret?"

"Konno-san," he sighed wearily, "joking is fine but please don't make fun of others people's problems. Right now Aoyama-san is still confused about a number of things; please don't add any more weight to her burden."

"You are too good, you know, Shirou-kun? I might just eat you up," she said teasingly.

"Please don't," he deadpanned, slipping out of her reach.

"Spoilsport," she pouted, but then turned serious. "But you do realize this is all because of you?"

"Yeah," he admitted, running a hand through his hair. "I guess I'd better take responsibility then."

Moving past the duo he followed after Motoko, who had made a tactical retreat to her room, and knocked twice on the wooden doorframe.

"W-who is it?" the voice of the startled girl asked from inside.

"It's Emiya. Could I speak with you for a moment, Aoyama-san?"

"Ah! J-just a moment please."

From outside the door Shirou heard the sound quick but light footsteps and the closet opening and closing. A moment of silence passed and then she called him to come inside. Shirou stepped inside the room and noticed that it was a tidy as ever but he supposed that Aoyama had thrown whatever she had out of place into the closet. He didn't hint about this knowledge of course nor did he let his eyes wander around too much. Even though he hadn't been in her room after his initial inspection everything seemed to be in order.

Instead he focused on the tenant, who was sitting at her table with her gaze cast down and a slight tinge of red still adorning her cheeks.

"I'm sorry about before," she apologized as Shirou sat in front of her.

"It's all right," he replied warmly with a tinge of amusement. "I am no stranger myself at blurting out things with the worst possible phrasing and timing. Don't worry about it."

"I see," she said still not looking straight at him. Silence fell between them for a moment, until Shirou spoke again.

"I was under the impression that you wanted to ask me something," he told her seriously.

"I…," Aoyama began but immediately stopped. Taking a deep breath she finally stared straight in his eyes. "Emiya-san, what does it mean to be a woman?"

Shirou blinked and then blinked again. Right, when he first decided to force Aoyama to face her issues he knew he was setting her to confront things she had avoided for a long time. He did not expect her, nor he would anyone else, to face deep-rooted problems on her own. In fact he was pretty sure she would have sought counsel from somebody, maybe a family relative. He knew thanks to his Tracing of Shisui that she had an older sister – Tsuruko - who wielded the blade before her. From the memory of her giving the sword to Motoko he could tell that the two were at least in an amiable relationship so Shirou expected that the fallen kendoka would refer to her in regards to this peculiar topic.

Apparently his assumption was wrong.

"I admit that I didn't expect you to ask me of all people about something like this, Aoyama-san. I 'm not sure I can give you the answer you seek as I have never been a woman myself." There was a hint of humor in his voice and he was glad to see that Motoko's lips quirked slightly upward.

"I guess asking a man was not the best course of action after all," she replied, amused by her own choice of counselor. "I'm sorry for having troubled you again, Emiya-san."

"Women are strong."

"W-what?"

"That's what my experience with women taught me," he explained. "They got to be the strongest creatures on this planet."

"You, ah, you really think so?" Motoko asked, eye-wide and attention fully focused on him.

"Hm," he confirmed. His eyes were no longer looking at her but were gazing out of the window, seemingly looking at something in the distance. "You know? The person who first taught me how to properly hold a sword was a woman too."

"Really? How strong is she?"

"To this day I'm nowhere close to match her skills," he admitted, causing Motoko's eyes to widen even more. "But her strength wasn't just in her arm or her blade. That's not what made her truly strong."

"What was it them?"

"Just like all the women I had the chance to get to know intimately later in life, her strength was her ability to accept her mistakes and make up for them, her ability to admit her own weakness and move past them. She never ran from the consequences of her choices but shouldered them until the very end. She wasn't without fault or without flaws, but she didn't allow them to dictate who she was and always strove to surpass those limitations."

"S-she sounds like an amazing person."

"Yeah," he agreed wholeheartedly, "she was the most brilliant example of a woman's strength to me, but she was hardly the only one. I don't know if it's just me, but every time I find myself looking up to someone for a reason or another it's always a woman. I'm not sure where that leaves me as a man," he chucked, "but I can't help but feeling like this."

"I see," Motoko replied numbly, seemingly dumbstruck by Shirou's vehemence.

"I don't know if what I said will be of any help to you, Aoyama-san, but please give it a thought."

"I most certainly will," she told him with a distant look in her eyes and a certainty in her voice that had been missing for a while. "Thank you for this conversation, Emiya-san."

"It was my pleasure, really," he told her warmly, standing up again. "Feel free to ask if you have further questions and I'll answer at the best of my ability. It might not be much but-"

"No," she interrupted him. "No, you have been a great help already. Thank you, Emiya-san. I am in your debt."

* * *

><p>After showing him out, Motoko sat near the window looking out while lost in thought.<p>

She hadn't expected that kind of opinion from Emiya. When he told her to live as a woman she had imagined that he meant for her to live a demure existence, shying away from challenges and conflict. Quite bluntly she believed he told her she belonged in the kitchen, even though he never even hinted at something like that.

It was again her misconception that led her to make a fool out of herself in endeavors in which she had no previous experience. That was not to say she was negated for such activities, but in her haste to prove herself she put too much vigor in her attempts and screwed up each and every time.

Again the depths of her foolishness seemed to extend some more. She had been too hasty, too anxious to find a new balance, forgetting the first rule of doing anything correctly: thinking things through. Well, no more. She had something to work with now.

Accepting her mistakes, making up for them. Acknowledging her weaknesses and moving past them.

Yes, it seemed like an enormous task now that she realized how misguided she had been, but with this knowledge she could move forward again. The first, small step a long path, but a step nonetheless.

For the first time in a long while she was eager to get started.

* * *

><p>"Well, that was interesting," Kitsune said removing her ear from the wall that separated her bedroom from Motoko's. By her side Naru, Shinobu and Kaolla did the same, the latter having appeared out of nowhere when they all silently decided to eavesdrop on Shirou's conversation with Motoko. The foreign girl had a knack for appearing when there was something juicy going on.<p>

"Yeah," Naru agreed. "I didn't expect that sort of answer from that guy either."

"Naru-senpai, Emiya-san is not a bad person," Shinobu repeated, speaking again in defense of her proclaimed hero. It was amusing to the resident fox how the shy and soft spoken girl was quick to speak in favor of their kanrinin. She was still reluctant to speak her mind when she wasn't absolutely sure of her opinion. but that only served to highlight how highly she regarded the Inn's only male.

Kitsune still knew very little about Shirou's past and circumstances but she could already tell that he was not a common person by any stretch of the imagination. His skill with a sword aside, what made him remarkable in her eyes was the way he seemed to shake the status quo just by not budging from his positions.

He had character, looks and by having become the landlord he definitely had money, but none of this was reflected in his everyday behavior. It wasn't normal, in her eyes, that someone with so many good qualities would not boast them at all. She had the firm impression that he was doing everything in his power to keep under the radar. For what reason she didn't know but she would be damned if she'd let such an interesting subject out of her sight.

She'd turn every stone and figure out what made him tick or her name wasn't Konno Mitsune.

" –tsune!"

"Waaah! What is it, Naru?"

"What is it with you?" the brunette asked back, frowning. "You've been spacing out for a while."

"Ah, ah, sorry about that. I was just thinking that's all."

"Hmm," Nary narrowed her eyes at her. "When you think too much someone gets broke. Are you planning something involving Emiya?"

"What do I get if I tell you?" she asked playfully.

"So you _are_ plotting something!"

"It might surprise you, but no. I'm just curious about him for. Aren't you all?"They all nodded more or less, Kaolla the more enthusiast of the lot as usual. Shinobu's nod was a shy as her and Naru's was begrudging, as she didn't want to admit that she could find any form of interest in a man after the negative experiences she had with them. Not that she could blame her for being cautions, though it didn't excuse her attitude toward them.

For a moment Kitsune hoped that Shirou could shake Naru's convictions like he had done with Motoko's but she discarded the thought immediately. She wasn't privy to what caused Motoko's issues with the male gender but her longtime friend problems couldn't be solved with a sword-fight.

"So, do you have a plan or something?" the brunette asked, mistaking Kitsune silence.

"No, not really," she lied. No use in stirring their interest if her investigations turned out to be fruitless. "For now I'm just observing him when he's around. I can't just prod him too much on his life after he tore us a new one over his privacy, you know."

"Yeah," Naru agreed. "That was a major blunder on our part. Uh, I realize just now we never did apologize for stalking him that night."

"Eh," the fox shrugged, "it doesn't seem like he's holding a grudge over that."

"Grudge or not we really did cross the line with him several times," the brunette groaned. "Don't you think we should at least make the token effort of apologizing? You know, for the sake of a peaceful cohabitation?"

"What's the use? If he doesn't hold a grudge then there's no point in saying we're sorry. Besides I'm just sorry that he busted us, not about following him."

"I should have known better than to call upon your conscience."

"Now, now," Kitsune grinned, not at all offended by her friend's comment. "It's not like anyone was hurt over it and if even he doesn't care I don't see why I should."

"Suit yourself, then. I'd rather make things as even as possible with him. I don't like being indebted with anyone."

"Well, I don't really have that problem," she smugly. "I can wriggle my way out of any sticky situation with my irresistible charm."

"This behavior is going to put you in some real trouble one day."

"I'll take my chances. Besides, what would life be without a little risk?"

"Longer," Naru deadpanned causing Shinobu to giggle.

"Aw, you're no fun at all, Naru-chan. That gloomy attitude deserves a punishment. Tickle war!"

With that declaration the vulpine woman leaped at her friend, tackling her to the ground.

"No, what are you- AH! Ahahahaha! Q-q-quit it, Kitsune! Gyahahaha!"

But Kitsune wasn't about to let her go so easily, for if there was one thing she would never give up it was her own entertainment, something that Emiya Shirou would come to realize soon enough.

* * *

><p>Outside of the room filled with laughter, Emiya Shirou listened to their conversation, leaning his back against the wall and with his arms crossed over his chest.<p>

They hadn't been as silent as they convinced themselves to be when they snuck in Kitsune's room. Even then his hearing was sharper than most, even when not Reinforced.

Normally he would have been annoyed at this breach of privacy, but he knew that even if the girls weren't really all that close, they cared and looked out for each other. In their eyes he was still an intruder, a trespasser and they sought to protect each other from harm. He of all people could not fault the wish of wanting to protect someone, so he simply stood straight and left the group of girls to their shenanigans. They mostly were a difficult bunch to deal with but deep down they were all good people. The kind of persons he wanted to protect. For that reason he could at least tolerate a few harmless misgivings.

* * *

><p>The next day, when Motoko left the Hinata-sou in direction of her school the next morning she no longer had the signs of a restless night upon her face. She looked well rested and far more certain of herself than the previous days. That's not to say that she didn't feel anxious or nervous, but those feelings no longer ruled her thoughts. She had a purpose again; a course of action she had pondered about and that she was certain was correct for her to follow.<p>

She could not envision what consequences this choice might have, or rather she refused to listen to what her uncertainties tried to whisper to her conscious mind. Her heart pounded in her chest with increasing tempo as she approached her school but she didn't let a drop of her inner turmoil to show on her face.

She strode past the gates far earlier than usual and purposely headed to the part of the grounds where she knew she'd find what she was looking for. As she preceded toward her destination the number of students around her dwindled and when she finally slipped behind the main building she was alone… with the people she intended to meet.

When she turned around the corner all conversations ceased. The five boy's eyes all locked onto her and it took all of her willpower not to flinch under their scrutiny. For a moment she thought that walking straight into the lion's den was probably not the most intelligent choice but she refused to back away out of fear. Besides this was where she put her preconceptions at trial. If she ran away now she could never find the confirmation she sought.

When they recognized her, the three of them who were sitting stood straight up, glaring at her. She forced herself not to step back.

"Aoyama…-san," the tallest addressed her, putting an arm sideway to stop the others from advancing in her direction as well as taking charge of the situation. She hadn't seen him in almost a year, but she immediately recognized him as Komuro, the silently proclaimed leader of the male half of the kendo club. The half of the club that she ostracized at every step and turn, fought and humiliated until they abandoned the sword and left. "Is there something you need?"

No courtesy, but no impoliteness either. It was far better than what she thought she would receive from them considering their history. She took a deep breath and ignored that part of her that screamed for her to run and not look back.

"It has been brought to my attention," she said in an even tone of voice and the slightest frown on her face, "that I have treated you as well as a number of other people wrongly in our past interactions. Because of my prejudice and personal dislikes I caused you to abandon kendo. It might not be enough but I came to apologize."

She concluded her statement in a deep bow, an act that sent the remnants of her pride screaming in fury, but she forced herself to swallow that feeling. A long tense moment went by and when she looked up Komuro had closed the few meters between them with fast silent steps without her even noticing. Motoko stood straight up again, forcing herself not to step away from the taller boy who was peering down on her with steel-like eyes.

She had no time to blink that a fist whizzed past her face, faster than she could hope to dodge if it was truly aimed at her. She was shocked by the speed, all the more so when her skin tingled with the familiar sensation of a ki discharge.

Both his speed and that ability were far beyond what he was capable of a few scant months earlier, when they last sparred. It was not something that could be achieved by chance, but it was rather the result of a harsh training. It was not at her level yet, and it probably would take him a few more years to reach her current level, but to think that this man who she had driven away would improve so much in such a short time was astounding. How was it possible?

"Aoyama-san," he began with his fist still outstretched beside her face, but absolute calmness in his voice and on his face, "aren't you thinking a bit too highly about yourself?"

"W-what?" she hissed. "I came to apologize, is that not enough? Do you want me to prostrate myself further?"

"As I said," he continued; retreating his fist, "you're thinking too highly about yourself. Driving us away from the club? Abandoning the sword? Don't make me laugh. You never had that power over us."

"But…You have kept practicing the way of the sword outside of school?"

"Of course we did," he remarked stepping back from her and emphasizing his use of the plural. "Did you really believe that we had abandoned kendo just because you defeated us every time we sparred? Please do not insult us. While it is true that your attitude was infuriating most of the time we would never give up our passion for the sword over something so silly. If anything, we always considered you someone to surpass," he chuckled, "all the more so to rub our eventual victory in your face."

"But then… if it was not because of my behavior why did you leave the club at all?" she asked in bewilderment.

"Because the gap between our abilities was far too wide for us to cross. None of us could hope to match your skills and you weren't willing to teach us either. The rest of our club-mates weren't enough of a challenge to make us improve in the slightest, no matter how much we practiced. We left the club because we needed different and stronger opponents to pit ourselves against. Aoyama-san, if anything it was because of you that we were able to realize how far we still have to go with our swordsmanship. As for those who really abandoned the sword over a defeat, people like them had no reason to hold a blade to begin with."

Motoko was speechless. All of this time they had not given up the sword? Her behavior didn't deter them from being kendoka? How… how shameful. In her attempt to apologize she had actually insulted them, calling them weak-willed. Her mistake in their regards was not just mere mistreatment, but looking down upon them as if they were not worthy of holding a sword. She really had failed in understanding them completely.

"My apologies," she bowed again. "It was not my intention to insult you."

"Apology accepted," Komuro told her evenly and behind him even his friends nodded after exchanging a meaningful look. "Though I wonder, is this change of heart brought by your own recent defeat I've heard about?"

She flinched.

"Hai," she admitted, "though it's just part of the reason."

"I see. I will inquire no further, but it's a shame that you were forced to abandon the sword before we had the chance for a proper duel."

"Indeed," Motoko found herself agreeing, much to her surprise. "But I'm working toward regaining the right of holding my sword again."

"Well then, I suppose I'll come challenging you some time in the future."

"I'd like that Komuro-san. Arigato," she found herself nodding, before turning to leave.

"Aoyama-san," Komuro's voice stopped her. She looked back at him. "This person who defeated you… how strong is he?"

She blinked. Yes, how strong could Emiya-san actually be? The truth was that…

"I couldn't even being the scope the true level of his ability," she told him, surprised at her own statement.

"I see," Komuro told her with a glint in his eyes that spoke of eagerness and anticipation. It was the kind of look of someone who was looking forward to something. The eyes of a true swordsman. "Thank you, Aoyama-san."

She inclined her head in acknowledgment and left, head filled with thoughts about her recent realizations. How much did she still have to learn about herself and other people? No wonder her growth as a kendoka had been halted if she had failed to understand her own self and her surrounding so badly.

At least now, just like Komuro-san, she had something to look forward to.

The rest of the day was not on the same high note but it was still better than what she had feared. She had apologized to a number of other people she thought she had wronged in the past, with varying degrees of reactions. Most simply accepted her apology, not really even recalling her slight until she reminded them, a few were taken aback by her chance and some of those even congratulated her for having the courage of coming forward and say she was sorry. Only a very small minority scoffed and rebuffed her apology, but those people were probably those few she hadn't been wrong about.

All in all it had been a positive experience and by the end of the day she felt lighter than she did in years. With the barest hint of a smile on her features she made her way back home.

From now on, things could only improve. Couldn't they?

* * *

><p>It was a day just like every other for the passengers of the last train to Hinata City. Businessmen and housewives alike rode that carriage each and every day but this time another, much less inconspicuous passenger, was travelling among them, drawing everyone's attention.<p>

Perhaps it was her clothing, so much out of fashion in that part of the country. Perhaps it was her beauty; so much like a doll she almost didn't seem real. Perhaps it was the strange bird, quietly perched upon her shoulder. Perhaps it was the blade, resting easily in the scabbard at her side. Perhaps it was the sum of all those factors, but fact remained that all the other passengers were looking at her and whispering to each other, some in admiration and some in envy.

Who was she? Where did she come from? Where was she headed? Questions they would never have to courage to ask so they just stared and whispered.

The train eventually reached a halt at its intended destination and the passengers' thoughts slipped from the mysterious beauty and in favor of their own daily affairs. The woman herself stepped out last with the crane on her shoulder stretching its wing and long neck from the stiffness of the travel.

"Hinata city," she whispered looking at her surroundings. "It's been quite a while since last time I visited. Do you think she'll be surprised to see me?"

The bird with an intelligent look in its eyes seemed to ponder the question, giving a slow nod in response.

"You're probably right," she chuckled. "Let us see how my imouto has been doing, shall we Shippu?"

With long elegant strides she left the train station, causing heads to turn in her wake once again. Perhaps if she knew how her arrival would have stirred chaos and mayhem she wouldn't have been so eager to get there.

Then again probably not.

* * *

><p>XXX<p> 


	12. Rusty Heart (V)

**Rusty Heart (V)**  
>(Published: 04.15.13 - Beta: Obiki Doragon )<p>

* * *

><p><em>As Emiya Shirou could have attested out of personal experience, sometimes solving a problem meant stumbling in much bigger issues, complicating instead of improving a situation that, while far from optimal, could be still considered better than the resulting development.<em>

_Of course, for someone who lived his life with the sole purpose of helping others, this wasn't an unexpected situation anymore, thought it still annoyed him deeply to rediscover each and every time that, in fact, no good deed goes unpunished._

* * *

><p>"Emiya-san," Aoyama called him from the other side of the street as he was returning to the Inn after shopping for groceries. He stopped and waited for her to cross the road, noticing with a certain amount of satisfaction that she was sporting a small smile on her face as well as an enthusiast bounce in her step.<p>

It was good seeing the formerly detached and cold girl warming up to him and the world in general. It made completely worthwhile having dealt with her previous behavior. In the end, making people happy was what made him happy in return.

"Back from school just now?" he asked the obvious once she reached him.

"Yes, I had a few issues to deal with," she answered falling into step with him as they both started walking back to their living place.

"No troubles, I hope."

"No more than what I've brought upon myself. I tried to follow your advice and make amend for the slights I have committed toward my schoolmates. I must admit it was an enlightening experience."

"That's good," he nodded. "Acknowledging our mistakes is the very first step not to repeat them."

"Indeed. Uh, Emiya-san, having you bought a little too much groceries?" she asked pointing at the several plastic bags he held in his hands.

"What, the groceries? I'm afraid that Suu-san has gone on a rampage and raided the pantry once more. She certainly has a healthy appetite, though I can't really begin to fathom where she puts all of the stuff she eats."

"I would not consider her voracity as healthy, but I can relate to your doubts. No matter how much she eats, she never seems to gain a single pound of weight. Then again she's hardly ever stands still for more than a minute."

"That she does and our food reserves suffer from it," he nodded. "Maybe I should build a bigger pantry?"

"I believe that would only incite her to eat more or more often," Aoyama shook her head. "Whichever is the one more humanly possible. Ah, do you need a hand with those bags? I don't mind carrying them."

Normally Shirou would not have considered letting a woman carry any weight when he could easily carry them by himself out of a principle, but she was trying to be helpful and he didn't think she'd have liked him refusing on the account of her being a girl.

"Thank you," he said offering her the lightest half of the bags, which she accepted with a smile.

They kept walking in comfortable silence until something caught his attention.

"Ah, Aoyama-san, I just remembered I forgot to buy a few spices," he said once they reached the stairs that climbed up to the inn. "Would you mind take the rest of the bags inside as well? I'm going to run back a moment."

"Of course, that is not a problem," the girl replied taking the rest of the groceries, struggling a little under the added weight. As she turned and climbed the rest of the stairs. When she disappeared from view Shirou put his hands in his pockets and walked away, though not in direction of the shopping district.

* * *

><p>There is one thing that could be said about the eldest daughter of the Aoyama family: she was never easily surprised. Having familiarized herself with things that most people didn't even think existed, she was hardly ever shocked by mundane things.<p>

That was, of course, not a rule as the current scene in front of her was absolutely extraordinary while at the same time being completely common. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary in a young woman walking side by side with a young man, after all. That is, if said woman wasn't her younger sister, which was known for having very little tolerance for the opposite gender.

She couldn't believe her eyes when, having just turned a corner on her way to the Hinata-sou, she saw her little sister wave to a man, of all people, and then join him and walk away together. Without even noticing she kept following them at a distance, too far away to hear what they were talking about. She did however notice that there was an atmosphere of peacefulness about Motoko which Tsuruko had never seen around her younger sister.

Even though Motoko had been sent away from home to gather experience on the world outside the boundaries of their family, which lived mostly detached from the rest of society, she never expected her sister to move past her issues entirely.

She certainly had hoped that being forced to live among stranger would have taught her that her prejudices about men were mostly unfounded, though she did understand why she had grown to think in such manner, but she never thought she would have been able to be this relaxed around a man.

Furthermore there was no indication of such a change when they last spoke at the phone, a little over a month earlier. In fact her subtle prodding on the subject had clearly reveled that Motoko had in fact not budged in the slightest from her ideas.

She found a partial answer when, having come across other passerby, Motoko still shied away from men who got too close. It wasn't all that evident, but it was clear in her body language that she was still wary of the opposite gender, especially when she didn't react in the same away when another woman was close by.

And yet she had no such a reaction in regards of the closest man around. She in fact seemed to inch toward him a bit more every time they came across other passerby of the same gender as him.

It was a bit of a disappointment, but at the same time a mischievous part of her grinned inwardly. Could it be that this mysterious man had managed to melt the ice that cased young Motoko's heart? Could the power of love have managed to at least create a path for this man to sneak past her defenses?

This was a matter that required an intense investigation. Who was he? Where did he live? How did he come across Motoko and more than anything else how did he manage to survive long enough to get her sister to see him in a positive light? She needed answer, no, she demanded them.

She kept following them, making a point to remain out of sight. It would do no good to reveal herself at that point. She had no leverage over that man to demand any answer out of him and she knew her sister well enough: she'd close tighter than an oyster if she approached the topic directly and without any sort of _incriminating_ proof.

For this reason, when they split up at the stair she knew to lead to the dorm, she opted to follow the man, barely noticing the oddity of the exchange of bags. If they were for the dorm, why did he have them in the first place? Perhaps he worked as a delivery man? Is that how he got to meet Motoko?

That was rather… lame, but then again who was she to judge her sister preferences? Nevertheless, she had to follow him. If he returned to his store she could at least learn where he worked and perhaps his name.

For well over ten minutes she walked behind him, stalking him all the way to a park. Strange, she mused, wasn't he going back to his workplace? Then maybe he had already finished his shift and was now going back home. Even better, she could pry his name from his doorbell or the letterbox, and then she would confront her sister with that knowledge. Either way she would get the answers she wanted.

At one point he turned right past a cluster of trees, disappearing from view. Quickly and without making any sort of noise she reached the intersection and poked her head past the leafy obstacle. She had but a moment to realize that he was nowhere in sight anymore, even though the pathway between trees extended for at least a hundred meters without no visible places to hide short of diving between the bushes.

She didn't even get the chance to contemplate the possibility of such a thing that a shiver went down her spine and the hair on the back of her head stood up in alarm.

He was, she knew without a doubt, standing right behind her.

She didn't turn and he didn't speak out.

Silence stretched as she felt his eyes dig holes into the back of her head.

"Stalking people around is usually considered a bit rude," a steel-like voice said. "May I ask who are you and for what reason you've been following me?"

A hint of shame and embarrassment crawled up her visage. He was correct, she had to admit, that following him for no apparent reason was not just a bit, but a lot rude. She felt even more embarrassed that he managed somehow to slip past her guard and caught her unaware. Granted, she wasn't even keeping her guard up against such things but it still hurt her pride.

Not that she would show all this outwardly, of course. She was better than that.

"Just as rude as asking someone else's name without introducing oneself," she said stopping her hand which was already reaching for her sword out of instinct.

An amused snort came as response, as well as the ominous pressure of his presence disappearing. He had taken a step back.

As slowly as possible, without looking awkward, she turned to look at her quarry turned hunter. Upon seeing him, she blinked. Did… did she knew him from somewhere? That seemed to be the case for she saw a spark of recognition on his face as well. Those gold eyes were most peculiar, so- .

Wait a minute, wasn't he...?

"Well, if it isn't the tiger's little cub."

* * *

><p>Motoko went to the kitchen and dropped the bags on the counter. She could tell there was something wrong. Though Emiya had not said a word and pretended to be his usual self, Motoko had detected a slight stiffening in his posture when they were about to reach the flight of stairs to the dorm. Something had put him on his guard but she did not dare to ask what it was.<p>

For a moment she entertained the thought to refuse his request to go back without him, but she reconsidered immediately. For one thing he could handle himself better than she could, and even if something came up he couldn't deal with alone, without a sword she was just a liability. So she played nice and acquiesced with his polite request.

She started to put each item from the bags in its proper place, all the while wondering what could have caused Emiya to behave like that. She hadn't perceived anything out of the ordinary, which meant that if he did than it was already something beyond her skill level.

She found herself being worried, though she was quite aware of how strong he actually was. Then her feeling shifted to surprise. Worry? Since when did he become someone she would be worried for? She certainly respected him, both as a person and a sword user but did she even really care about what could happen to him?

No, it couldn't be like that. She probably just didn't want him to die before she had the chance of restoring her honor and then measure herself against him again. Yes, that was more like it.

Her train of thought was halted a few minutes later, when she heard the front door slide open. She went to see if everything was alright with him and on the way there she heard Kitsune's voice.

"Oh? Who's your guest, Shirou-kun? Another friend from back home has come to visit?"

So he was with someone, Motoko mused. Was this person the one who caused him to react like that? She reached the entrance and poked her head from around the corner. In the span of a moment her feeling shifted several time.

Relief washed away the slight worry she had for him, when she saw he was uninjured.  
>Relief went back to worry, when she saw the look on his profusely sweating face.<br>Worry became dread when her eyes fell on his companion.

"A-aneue," she stuttered, dumbstruck.

"Hello Motoko. I see that you have been well."

Oh, no. Oh, no-no-no. This was a disaster. Why was she here? She couldn't have a worse timing.

"Aneue, what are you doing here?"

"Hm, Is it wrong for an older sister to visit her younger sibling? It's been a while since we last spoke, even more since we last saw each other. I missed you."

"Oh," Motoko deflated. "I- I missed you too aneue."

"And I was also a little worried," the eldest Aoyama continued. Motoko didn't miss her mischievous tone and cringed. "Imagine my surprise when I saw you walk side by side with this man earlier," she tapped Emiya's head with the hilt of her blade. The kanrinin didn't react doing his absolute best to look elsewhere and pretend he wasn't even there, bullets of sweat running down his face. What had her sister done to make him cower like that? "Imagine my shock when he told me he's your new dorm manager."

"Ah, well, I suppose…"

"And I couldn't help but wonder why my little sister didn't think of informing me of such a clamorous event. Why Motoko, one would think you were trying to hide your boyfriend from me."

"BOYFRIEND?! It's not like that, Tsuruko-nee!" Motoko and Emiya both shouted at once. Wait…

"E-Emiya-san, why did you just address my sister like that?"

"Ah! Eh! Well…"

"Ara, Shirou-chan, how cruel of you," Motoko's sister chuckled. "You never even told Motoko-chan you knew me? I guess it's up to me to make introductions, then. Motoko, this is your adoptive older brother Shirou-chan."

"Ah, uh, eh," Motoko elaborated loquaciously. "WHAT?!"

* * *

><p><strong>Half an hour later<strong>

"Bwahahahah!" Kitsune roared in laughter, holding her sides. Even the other tenants, who gathered to greet Motoko's sister and drink tea, were snickering at her tale. "Did he really say that?"

"Oh yes," Tsuruko confirmed, "even back then Shirou-chan was so polite. You wouldn't have said he was the younger one between them."

"Comparing my level of maturity with Taiga's isn't really a fair measuring stick," Shirou grumbled, shaking his head. "Besides, you should have known better than to answer to her provocations."

"Well, she should have known better than to accept my challenge. Too bad we never got to see how the match would have played out."

"S-so," Kitsune breathed. "So you actually bet ownership of Shirou as a little brother on the result of the duel?"

"Yes, she was so certain of her victory that she didn't even think twice about it. Then she got herself disqualified for having a tiger-shaped strap on her shinai before we even managed to cross swords. It was a victory for me by default and while it had not been a duel…"

"You had Shirou call you Tsuruko-nee for the rest of their permanence at tournament. Oh, that must have been priceless."

"It was. You should have seen how he squirmed and blushed every time he had to address me. It was like being anything but absolutely polite was a struggle for him. He used to be so adorable back then that I really wanted to take him home with me."

Shirou on his part could only re-enact those moments and blush in embarrassment. Yes, he could still remember those days with absolute clarity.

Aoyama Tsuruko, Taiga's nemesis at the high school kendo tournament. The opponent she was supposed to face at national competitions.

When he was little, his surrogate sister forced him to be her team's unofficial mascot (read: slave) for the duration of the tournament. There he met Tsuruko, who at the time was already Taiga's bitter enemy, a feeling that probably wasn't reciprocated in the slightest by the far more composed kendoka from Kyoto.

Still, she seemed to take a shine to him, if only because of their mutual exasperation at Taiga's antics. For that reason, in a surreal turn of events and in response to Taiga's constant proclamation of her own certain victory, Tsuruko had baited Fuji-nee into waging ownership of Shirou as '_little brother'_ in their duel. Shocked by the challenge and dense as she was, she accepted immediately without even asking for a counter-wager.

In the end Taiga was disqualified for forgetting to remove her tiger-shaped good-luck charm from her shinai, so the duel was really took place. However, since Tsuruko had technically won, for rest of the tournament she never let him call her anything else but Tsuruko-nee. Not Tsuruko-san and much less Aoyama-san. Only Tsuruko-nee.

He played along, mostly just to mess around with Taiga who got it coming, but in those the few episodes when his natural politeness kicked in and he slipped in addressing her, her glare forced him to correct himself immediately. He had become so scared of her in those cases that even now he had a Pavlovian reaction to her harsh stare and he couldn't even thinking of her as Aoyama without making a conscious effort. After that he did his best to put the entire episode out of his mind and succeeded, until then.

Only when he saw her again that very same day his mind made the connection, putting two and two together, realizing that the Aoyama Tsuruko he had _read_ about within Shisui was in fact the same person he met so many years ago.

"I see," Motoko nodded, sitting at his side. She looked rather tense, for reasons unknown but the shock of being _'siblings'_ of sorts seemed to have sent her thoughts in a different direction. Of course, realizing that it was only a game of teasing for her older sister and they were not actually related had put her to ease. "You are a disciple of the Tiger of Fuyuki; my sister's rival. No wonder you're so skilled with a sword."

Shirou snorted in actual amusement. "No way. I never learned how to hold a blade from Taiga."

"You haven't?"

"Hm? What are you two talking about?" Tsuruko asked. "Shirou, have you turned to kendo as well?"

"Not exactly," he scratched his head. "Let's just say I recently found a new interest in swords."

"Wait, uh," Motoko stammered. "What do you mean just recently? How long have you been practicing with a sword?"

"Well, it's been five years, give it or take it a few months."

"Five years? Just five years?" Motoko whispered, totally dumbstruck. She had been practicing her entire life.

"That means that you really abandoned the bow, Shirou? That is a real shame."

"Uh, you knew about that, Tsuruko-nee?"

"Of course," she laughed, covering her smile with the sleeve of her kimono. "Far from me to forget about my little brother's endeavors. I followed your short but brilliant career until you quit."

"Ah, wait a moment aneue, Emiya-sa-ahhh," Motoko tried to say, but a harsh glare from Tsuruko halted her in her tracks. "I-I mean Shirou onii-san," cue Kitsune rolling on the floor laughing at Motoko's ferocious blush, which she ignored at best as she could. "What do you mean when you speak about bow and arrow?"

"Oh, Shirou-chan didn't tell you?" Tsuruko chuckled. "My, my, Shirou, you were always the humble one aren't you?"

"It has been years and it wasn't a big deal to begin with," Shirou snorted.

"Not a big deal, you say?" Tsuruko cocked her head to the side, amusement etched on her face. "You just keep proving my point. Have you not won the national tournament of kyuudou when you were just a first year student in high school?"

"Like I said, it wasn't a big deal," he retorted looking to the side, scratching his head and blushing sheepishly.

"I can see you still don't know how to properly handle praises, yet," the eldest Aoyama laughed musically. "You were such a promise in the field that you already had scouts watching over you. I can still remember your club mate, that… Mitsuzuri if I'm not mistaken, saying that you never missed a target."

"Wait, wait, wait, how do you know Mitsuzuri? Did you meet her?"

"Not at all. I just happen to have been watching the competitions on television and I followed the interviews afterward. Had I not seen it with my own eyes I would not have easily believed such a claim, but you did in fact hit the target with absolute accuracy every time. I don't know how many other kyuudouka have a one hundred percent hit rate and at such a young age to boot."

"Now, you're making it sound far too outlandish than it actually was. It's not like I was born knowing how to hold a bow, you know? I had to learn like everybody else. Of course I missed the target more than once."

"Of course you did," she nodded sagely, "and what after you learned how to properly hold a bow?"

"…," Shirou kept his mouth shut. He could lie, of course, but it was never his forte and the cunning Tsuruko would see right through his cheap deceptions. "Never once."

"Just as I thought. You could have easily gone to the Olympics, even win the gold with skills like yours."

The outrageous claim was met with a stunned disbelief. Even Kitsune was at loss for words, staring at Shirou with wide eyes.

"It's… really not a big deal," Shirou muttered.

"How is it not a big deal?" Narusegawa spoke for the first time after the introductions, holding her head between her hands as if she was trying to grasp the notion. She then stood up, slammed both hands on the table and glared at him. "This is the Olympics we're talking about: a worldwide competition. How can you say it wasn't a big deal? For that matter why did you even stop practicing it?"

"I, uh," Shirou stuttered, taken aback by her vehemence. "I had a hundred percent precision rate."

"So?" her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "That's it? That's your reason for quitting? What made you even think it was a good reason?"

"I couldn't improve anymore," he explained simply. "No matter how hard a shot was I never missed the target. For all intents and purposes, pardon the arrogance, my kyuudou _is_ flawless. There was no reason for me to stick with something that had no room for improvement. It would have been a waste of time."

"A waste… a waste of time, he says," Narusegawa muttered, sitting back in her chair.

"I didn't start practicing kyuudou for the competition anyway. I was interested in its philosophy more than anything else."

"Philosophy?" Shinobu cued in and Shirou nodded.

"To make it simple, kyuudou teaches to become one with the arrow and, through it, with the target. Essentially its purpose is to bring into reality the result of '_hitting the target_' that the kyudoka sees in his mind. It was a method to sharpen my mind more than a sport or anything else. Once I could make the image into reality every single time there was no need to limit this ability to the archery stage, so I moved onto other things."

A stunned silence fell upon the room. Even the heir to the Shinmei-ryu had no words for a while.

"I have revaluated you, Shirou-chan. You have always been a diamond in the rough but you've polished yourself far more than I thought possible. Though you should really have more pride in your abilities."

"I- Uh. I had help," he said sheepishly, embarrassment for all the praises and the attention getting to him once again, now that his lecture had ended.

"Of course you did," Tsuruko nodded sagely. "That's it. Motoko-han, Shirou-chan, I approve of your relationship. You have my blessing."

"We are not like that!" the chagrined duo replied in unison.

"Ah, but Shirou-chan, if you were to marry Motoko then you'd really become my otouto."

"I appreciate the thought," Shirou sweat dropped, "but I never expressed the wish to become your otouto, did I?"

"I can see that your character has not improved at all over the years," the elder Aoyama shook her head. "Poor Fujimura-san must be heartbroken for such an uncouth little brother."

"Even if that was the case," Shirou snorted, "it would be nothing more than she deserves."

* * *

><p>"ACHOOOO!" Taiga sneezed loudly at the table in the living room of the Emiya household.<p>

"Are you coming up with a cold at this time of the year, Taiga?" Rider asked worriedly, sipping a cup of tea.

"Nah. This is someone badmouthing me," she sniffed. "This feeling… it must be Shirou."

"You can tell just by that?" the Heroic Spirit said in amazement.

"Of course," the resident tiger confirmed oddly proud with herself. "This warrants a punishment. Rider, when Shirou comes visit you'll help me hold him still, alright? You can tie him with a rope or something."

"But of course," Rider nodded. Hmmm… tying Shirou. Ropes, chains or maybe silk? Where had she put that ball-gag and the whip last time she used them? Better find them soon. Just in case.

* * *

><p>"Shirou, are you feeling alright?" Tsuruko inquired. "You have paled all of a sudden."<p>

"I… I'm fine, thank you. It's just…for a moment I had this dreading feeling of foreboding, like someone had walked on my grave or something."

"You say the silliest things sometimes. Well then, Motoko-han what do you say if we take a dip in the hot springs together? That is if the landlord has no objections."

"No, not at all. Make yourself at home. If you wish to spend the night here I'll have a room ready for you."

"Thank you for the hospitality then."

The women stood and left for the hot-springs, leaving Shirou to ponder about the recent conversation.

"Pride in my ability, uh?"

* * *

><p><strong>Half an hour later<strong>

Motoko was soaking up with her sister and the other girls inside the hot springs. The conversation idled for a while on the subject of their kanrinin but seeing how even Tsuruko knew very little about his personal life they soon moved to other topics.

Mitsune however only half listened to the casual discussion. Her mind was busy adding even more questions to the growing list that Shirou had to his name.

This guy just wasn't normal. He was hard working, fairly talented in most fields and a genius in some others. Just recently he discovered to be part of a very wealthy family and that he owned the inn he was currently living in. Apparently he was in also in a form of relationship with a foreign supermodel and he had traveled the world on his own for some years.

Yet, in spite of all these particular traits he showed no interest in talking about himself, downplaying his own accomplishments. There was just so much that natural humbleness could justify and the thought of him being insecure was laughable, at best.

No, his attempts to pass unnoticed meant a single thing for the resident fox woman: he was trying to hide something. What it was, she didn't know, but her curiosity was perked now more than ever and she would go to the bottom of the mystery that was Emiya Shirou at all costs.

* * *

><p>Later, after dinner, when the tenants returned to their respective rooms, Tsuruko joined Motoko in hers, having refused politely to have an entire room prepared for a single night.<p>

Upon entering, Tsuruko noticed that Motoko's room was well kept and clean, as expected from the self-disciplined Motoko. There was however something off about her sister, Tsuruko noticed, as well with the room itself.

"Would you mind telling me what's eating you up, Motoko?"

"W-what do you mean aneue?" the younger sibling stuttered, not turning to meet her eyes.

"You have been tense this whole time since I arrived. If such a thing was possible I would think you were afraid of me. Have I done something to upset you perhaps?"

"Not at all. I just have a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hmm," Tsuruko mused, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Thank you aneue," Motoko finally smiled, "but it is fine. It's something I need to sort out by myself."

"Very well. I can understand that," she nodded. Then her warm smile turned mischievous once more. "Then how about telling me what happened with Shirou? Seeing you so close to a man without being on your guard surprised me a great deal. How did he accomplish something that your family failed to do for years?"

"I-It's nothing like what you are suggesting," Motoko blurted, completely flustered. "Emiya-san merely helped me confront my issues."

"Yes, I could see that, what I'm wondering is how he did that."

"I… I would rather not talk about it," the younger Aoyama replied, looking at her feet.

"Motoko," Tsuruko continued, suddenly completely serious, "while I may like Shirou as a person you are my sister first. If he has done anything to hurt you…"

"It's not like that, aneue. It really isn't. Emiya-san and I did not start of the best of terms, that is undoubtedly true, but he really helped me in many instances and he has been very patient with me."

"If that is the case, then I will push this subject no further," Tsuruko conceded, her frown softening, "though it seems I that have to thank Shirou-chan for having taken care of you."

"Aneue, you just want to embarrass me," Motoko actually pouted.

"Well, yes, just a little bit," the eldest sister admitted. "It's unusual to see you expose your emotions beside anger so openly. Every time anyone poked fun at you for a reason or another you went right for your…"

Tsuruko trailed off, eyes widening slightly. She looked around the room, her mind finally understanding what was missing in Motoko's most personal space.

"A-aneue?"

"Motoko-chan, I can't see a sword in this room, not even Shisui. It's not like you to keep it anywhere but in plain sight. Where is it?"

"… lost it," Motoko muttered under her breath, staring intently at her feet.

"I'm sorry? I'm afraid I missed that. For a moment I thought you said you lost it."

"I- I... I'm sorry aneue."

* * *

><p>When Shirou found out, earlier that day, that Tsuruko was Motoko sister he more or less expected a certain kind of development. Even though he interacted with the elder Aoyama sister for a handful of days in the past he more or less figured that underneath her calm and composed exteriority she was just as passionate and strong headed as Motoko was. It was probably the reason why she could never just ignore Taiga's antics and provocations, dragging him in that ridiculous bet between them.<p>

So, when he heard the door to Motoko's room slide open with a bit more force than needed, he already knew what was about to come. He calmly put the last dish in the washer, removed his gloves, hanged his apron near the sink and stepped out of the kitchen just in time to see Tsuruko come down the stairs.

There was a sense of determined purpose about her and no sign of the cheerful if dignified demeanor she usually exposed. This wasn't the woman who tangled with Taiga but the heir to the Shinmei-ryu on official business.

"Aoyama-san," Shirou spoke formally, "I believe there is something we should discuss."

His obvious awareness of the situation as well as his way to address Tsuruko seemed to give the swordswoman pause, seeing that she slowed down, relaxing slightly. A thin, dangerous smile appeared on her lips.

"Indeed, I believe we should, Emiya-san. It has come to my attention that there has been an altercation between you and my sister. She was not really forthcoming with the details, but I understand that you have taken Shisui away from her. Would you mind explaining me the circumstances that brought this forth?"

"I'm not really sure of what I should say nor what I could say without addressing your sister's private businesses. We had our differences and she decided that a duel was a good way to settle them. She waged her sword on it and lost."

"You are even less forthcoming that she was Emiya-san. What you told me is more or less what I surmised from my talk with Motoko, though she added the detail that you saw her unfit to hold a sword and that she should have rather lived as a woman."

"… I can't say that is false," Shirou replied steely. "The question now is: what do you plan to do about it, Aoyama Tsuruko-san?"

"Will you return Shisui to my sister?" Tsuruko inquired, her fingers caressing the hilt of her own sword.

"I don't believe it's yet the time for her to have it back," he shook his head. "She's still lacking something."

"That thing being?" the swordswoman arched an eyebrow.

"A reason to hold a sword that isn't hiding from her fears. A kendoka whose grip is slacking will eventually cut themselves and those around them."

Tsuruko's shoulders lost a bit of her tension and a small sigh escaped her lips.

"I cannot fault that logic," she admitted begrudgingly. "But I cannot simply accept that a person outside the family would pass judgment upon my sibling's resolve, without testing their resolve myself either. Emiya Shirou, I, Aoyama Tsuruko hereby challenge you to a duel for the ownership of Shisui."

Shirou arched an eyebrow, tilling his head slightly; the faintest of smirks playing across his lips. "I'm not Taiga, Aoyama-san. You must make a counter-wager if you want me to bet something I currently own."

"I had honestly hoped you would have fallen for the same trick," Tsuruko smiled, "but I don't have anything you might want in exchange of Shisui."

"Then I'm afraid I can't accept your duel, Tsuruko-nee. I'm sorry," Shirou bowed.

"There is no reason for you to apologize," she said putting a hand on his shoulder. "If anything, it is I who should be sorry for trying to force you into something like this. However Shirou, as a personal favor I have to ask you to return Shisui either way. It's a precious family heirloom."

"I can't really do that either," he replied firmly, straightening up. "I will gladly return it to Motoko when the time has come, but I won't hand it over to anyone else. Motoko wouldn't want that and Shisui as well wishes to return to her alone."

"Shisui? What do you mean by that?"

"Let's just say that no one understands swords as I do, Tsuruko-nee."

"Very well then. I don't have the right to push this matter with you, but I'm afraid that I will have to inform my elders of this development. A formal duel that resulted in the loss of one of our most precious heirlooms will have consequences in our family."

"Will there be troubles for Motoko?" he asked, unable to hide his usual worry for other people.

"You are surprisingly worried for someone so uncooperative, and yes, there's probably going to be trouble for my imouto. An Aoyama is expected to possess a certain amount of self-restraint. Losing an important heirloom in a duel over something trivial will most likely result in a form of punishment."

"Aneue," Motoko called from the stairs, having joined the scene without them noticing. "I'm sorry for disappointing you."

"I'm not disappointed, Motoko," Tsuruko confessed turning to her sister. "I'm just sad that it took something like this to help you start moving past your fears, had I known what would've happened…"

"It would have done no good, aneue," the younger Aoyama shook her head. "I needed to have my eyes opened forcibly. Losing my sword was what I needed no matter how shameful it is."

"… You have grown Motoko. Now, let us go back to your room... Tomorrow morning I will have to return home and report this event. Shirou, my family will not let go of Shisui very easily. You can be certain that someone will be sent to persuade you to return it. It might even be me."

"Will this _persuasiveness_ put anyone at risk beside me?" he asked.

"And if it were to be so?" she arched an eyebrow.

"Then I'm afraid whoever comes searching for Shisui will discover that I can be just as persuasive." AS he said so his posture, neutral until that point, shifted slightly and became exceedingly menacing, though only an expert would have been able to tell the difference.

In spite of the obvious threat, Tsuruko actually smiled and ushered Motoko toward their shared room, disappearing up the stairs.

When they were out of sight Shirou allowed himself to relax and sighed. As expected nothing is ever simple when helping people out.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to the involved parties, a minuscule, wireless camera observed everything from a small hole in one of the wooded pillars. It was almost invisible to the naked eye, hidden in the many imperfection of the old wood.<p>

Quietly and undetected it transmitted the entire exchange to one of the other rooms. There, in complete silence a person watched, as she usually did, observing the oddity that was Shirou Emiya. From day one there had been something wrong about him, something entirely out of place.

She didn't know what exactly, but she would keep watching until she knew exactly what it was.

* * *

><p>The night passed and morning came. Tsuruko ate breakfast along with everyone without anything to give away the exchange of the previous evening. Only a slight downcast look on Motoko's face gave away that not everything was right, but apparently the tenants chalked it up to the resident Aoyama already missing her older sister.<p>

When everything was said and done she packed what little luggage she had brought with her, thanked for the hospitality and left with a bird crane that swooped on her shoulder like it was the most natural thing.

Everyone went about their business after that, leaving only Shirou and Motoko to look in the direction where the eldest Aoyama had disappeared, beyond the stairs the led to the city.

"Are you afraid, Aoyama-san?" he asked when everyone was out of earshot.

"I am," she admitted, almost offhandedly, "but I won't let that rule me any longer, Whatever happens, I'll face it with my head high. And I… I will find my reason to hold a sword again."

"I'll be looking forward to that," he smiled and then returned inside the inn, leaving behind a young woman with a troubled future ahead.

* * *

><p>An entire week passed without calls or visits from Kyoto and Shirou allowed himself to distance his thoughts from Motoko's situation. To be honest he had plenty on his mind of his own since getting into Tokyo University was a difficult task without additional worries from third parties, therefore with the exception of his morning routine and his tasks as kanrinin he was hardly seen out of his room.<p>

It was therefore surprising how he was not even inside the dorm when the situation snowballed.

The phone rang one morning and Shinobu, who was nearby, picked it up. Actually Mitsune was closer, but the vulpine woman had no intention to move from where she was watching horse races on TV.

"Emiya-san, there's a call for you," the petite girl announced. Unbeknownst to her, the fox's ears perked up.

"At this hour? Who could it be?" the redhead wondered, coming out of his room. With a grateful nod he took the receiver from Shinobu's hand and put it to his ear. "Emiya speaking."

Still pretending to pay attention to the race Kitsune watched, from the corner of her eye, Shirou's posture shift and his eyes harden. For over two minutes he didn't say anything, not even a word of greeting. For a moment Kitsune thought he had been put on hold.

"I've got it," he finally said, glancing at his wristwatch. "I'll be ready in one hour."

Then without another word he closed the conversation and returned to his room. Not five minutes later he came out again, carrying a relatively big backpack.

"Konno-san, Shinobu-san. I'll be leaving until tomorrow, maybe until the day after."

"Did something happen, Emiya-san?" Shinobu asked worriedly, walking out from the kitchen.

"Not at all," he replied walking toward the exit. "I own a favor to a couple of people and they asked for my help with a job. It's a bit of a short notice but I really couldn't say no. Please take care of yourselves in my absence."

"Where exactly is that you're going, Shirou-kun?" Kitsune asked with half-opened eyes, trying her best to hide her curiosity.

"I'm not exactly sure, but it shouldn't be really far. Someone is going to be picking me up at the train station in less than an hour"

"But...What kind of job is it anyway?" she inquired further.

"Definitively some menial manual tasks," he laughed. "They never call me for the complex stuff anyway. I really got to, now. See you in a couple of days."

"Goodbye and take care, Emiya-san," Shinobu waved as he disappeared down the stair.

"Yeah, take care," Kitsune agreed half-heartedly, mulling over the last strange ten minutes as well as Shirou's very odd behavior. She was sure he was lying or at least being willingly elusive. She wanted to follow him but that didn't work out well in the past. Besides she didn't own a car, so trailing him gods knew where was out of the question as well.

She had to sit back and gather information on her own before trying to wiggle anything out of him directly. As usual, a reporter's job was ninety percent patience.

* * *

><p>"Where's Emiya-san?"<p>

At dinner, Motoko joined the other tenants at the table, immediately noticing the absence of the only male allowed on the hallow grounds of the Hinata-sou.

"He had to leave suddenly for a couple of days. He was called this morning for a job by someone he owed a favor."

"I see," she acquiesced. "Well then, Ittadaki-"

**TOK! TOK! TOK!**

A loud knocking at the entrance cut Motoko's sentence short.

"Who could it be at this hour?" Shinobu wondered, standing up to answer the door. Motoko watched the younger girl walk to the entrance and she heard the door slide open as well as unintelligible words being exchanged. A moment later she returned.

"Motoko-senpai, there are visitors for you,"

A feeling of dread settled into her stomach as she stood up. She didn't ask who it was, as she had been waiting for something like this to happen. She wasn't therefore surprised when she found her sister, flanked by two men with a katana at their sides, waiting for her in the entry hall.

"Aneue," she greeted.

"Imouto… it's time to come home."

There was a sad finality to Tsuruko statement. It was all the confirmation Motoko needed to realize that the time of respite had ended and that she could no longer pretend that everything was fine. It was time to go back… to him.

Her body trembled and a single bead of sweat ran down her face. She closed her eyes and balled her shaking fists.

She couldn't face that. She had to run way. As far and as fast as she possible could. She had to-

_'Women are strong.'_

Motoko's eyes snapped open, a single thought cutting through the fog of her fear. A sentence that had struck her for its sincerity and the conviction it carried. Women are strong and she would live as one.

Her breath evened, her panicked heartbeat slowed. She unclenched her fists and stared at her sister squarely in the eyes.

"I'm ready."

No, she wasn't but she knew that there was no longer any chance to postpone the inevitable. If only her eyes had been opened sooner then perhaps she would have truly been strong as she needed in that moment, but there was no use or sense in dwelling with what-ifs. It was time to step forward in spite of everything else and finally take her like her hands.

No matter what it meant.

* * *

><p>XXX<p> 


	13. Rusty Heart (VI)

**Rusty Heart (VI)  
><strong>(Published: 05.28.13 - Beta: Obiki Doragon)

* * *

><p>Shirou Emiya was a fairly quiet man all around. He hardly ever lost his patience but when he did it was better being as far away from him as possible.<p>

Particularly, that night, Shirou hadn't lost his patience. He wasn't even annoyed, to be honest.

He was, simply put, fucking pissed!

**"Trace Bullet: CONTINUOUS FIRE!"**

Blades of all kinds went flying from behind his back like bullets from a machine gun, hissing through the night and striking his target with pinpoint precision. Blood erupted where steel pierced flesh but the wounds inflicted served to halt the creature's advance for a moment before the cuts regenerated.

He knew that the situation wasn't good, as it hardly could be when a Dead Apostle Hunt was called, but there had to be limits to how bad it could get; yeah, not likely. Save for some notable exceptions, Dead Apostles were a fairly nefarious bunch of people, if you could even call them that. It came with feeding on humans' blood, Shirou supposed, but some of them were severely twisted individuals even before being turned, or in the case of some magi, before turning themselves into one.

This particular case belonged to the latter category. This magus, already a Sealing Designate and by extension someone hunted by any other magus affiliated with the Clock Tower, decided that turning himself into a vampire was the next logical step to advance his thaumaturgy.

The sick bastard's Sorcery Trait allowed him to transplant organs between living beings, which included himself, without fearing rejections, but the asshole took it up to eleven by using his power to assimilate his prey into his own body, simultaneously absorbing the blood he needed and acquiring "spare parts" for himself.

In fact, barring strange abilities gained by other means, Dead Apostles usually were just highly enhanced humans with a thirst for blood and that could be killed just like any normal human. Therefore it was a logical conclusion, in this twisted magus' perspective, to get a few spare organs for his body in case some of them were destroyed.

Hearts, lungs, liver, kidneys, Even the brain had become replaceable and so he_-it_took another person's organs, then another's, and then another's and so on. When the Enforcers from the Association showed up and had cornered him, he let his ability run wild.

To say that there wasn't a single living soul left would have been a blessing in this case, but sad truth was that the inhabitants of the city were pretty much still alive, though joined into a single body like a shapeless mass of flesh, slowly being turned into Ghouls as the curse of vampirism spread from the magus original body through the now shared blood stream.

And they screamed. Gods, they screamed. They called for mercy, for relief and for death.

They couldn't be saved. Their bodies had been twisted too much, deprived of this or that organ surviving in atrocious pains only because they were sustained by the yet untouched organs of the next unlucky person.

_Help me. Kill me. I don't want to die. I don't want to live like this. Help me. Run away. Die._

They were beyond salvation. Shirou knew as much, and he would have ended it already if he wasn't trying to buy time for the team of Enforcers who had gathered without truly knowing the magnitude of the threat.

"Pull back," he called out as the last wounded Enforcer retreated pat him.

"Emiya, you can't hope to stop it on your own," the less injured of the lot said. "We're staying."

"Just get the hell out of here," he snapped angrily while his sword impaled the tendrils of flesh that were trying to reach for him and the rest of the Enforcers. "Run and don't look back!"

"But-"

"JUST GO!"

"You'd better not get yourself killed, Emiya!"

* * *

><p>The enforcer ran, joining his retreating companions. Their Magecraft granted them enhanced bodies that could run faster than normal human possibly could, but having to carry their wounded comrades slowed them down considerably, though not having to restrict their abilities to prevent witnesses somewhat countered that.<p>

Still, it took them a little over a minute to evacuate from the empty city and get into the forest that surrounded it. When they got there they stopped to catch their breath. If_'Garden of Blood'_followed them all the way there the vegetation would hinder it.

From their position the small town could no longer be seen. The only thing visible besides the trees was the rim of gold of the dawning morning.

… dawn?

The Enforcer glanced at his wristwatch, one of the few pieces of modern technology a proper magus possessed. It read four in the morning; far, far too early for the Sun to be peaking at the horizon, and from the wrong direction too. To confirm that it wasn't the sun, the light soon subsides and after a moment it faded completely, plunging the forest into complete darkness and silence once again.

A comforting silence; The screaming of hundreds of tormented souls that had plagued their ears could no longer be heard. He… he actually made it. The Enforcer didn't know what kind of Mystery Emiya had pulled out of his ass to dispatch_'Garden of Blood',_but somehow the runt had in store something big enough to wipe him out in one go.

Damn, that was a blow to their pride. If he had something like that from the beginning, chances were that they had only hindered him. The second '_Magus Killer_' certainly lived up to his father's name.

"I'm going back to assess the situation," he addressed his comrades and without waiting for acknowledgement he run back toward the last place where he saw Emiya. He didn't particularly care about the guy, having considered him a little more than an arrogant upstart until that moment, but well, they wouldn't have survived without him. His pride as a magus required that he at least made sure he did the same as well.

He ran fast as he could in the opposite direction as before, turning sharply around a corner expecting to see… what the hell?

_'Garden of Blood'_was gone for good, that much was certain, but so was the portion of the city where the Dead Apostle used to be and there, right where the smooth asphalt stopped and the mass of ruins begun, was the Magus Killer, kneeling on the ground and holding his left arm is it was wounded or at least in great pain.

"Emiya, oi, Emiya; are you alright?"

The young man sharply turned his head in the direction of voice, his gray eyes settling on the Enforcer's.

"Didn't I-," he gasped for air, "didn't I tell you not to come back?"

"Don't mess with me kid. I couldn't just leave you here after you pulled our asses out of the fire. Are you wounded? What's wrong with your arm?"

"My arm is… fine," he replied, standing back on his feet. "I just swung a sword a bit too hard."

The Enforcer removed his gaze from the Magus Killer to look at the devastation before him and swallowed. "Swung a bit too hard, have you now?" he shook his head. "You are one crazy motherfucker, Emiya, I give you that."

"…What now?" the redhead asked, ignoring the praise that might as well be an insult.

"Now our job's done and we can let the higher ups deal with the fallout. Risking my life to hunt Dead Apostle is one thing but dealing with the paperwork? That's way above my pay grade."

"… In the end I didn't manage to save anyone," Emiya said dejectedly, looking at the battlefield.

"And what are we, chopped liver? The Enforcer asked sarcastically. "Trust me kid, we wouldn't have gotten half of us out of here without your help. And I don't mean half or numbers, that would be your average Apostle Hunt, I mean half of our fucking bodies. I don't know you, but that makes me feel pretty much '_saved' _right now. Isn't that good enough for you?"

"I guess that counts for something," Emiya smiled wryly, though his eyes were still tinged with sorrow. Was this guy actually a magus?

"Come on, we did all that was in our power and beyond. That motherfucker was almost up to an Ancestor's level having an ability that fucked up. How did you take him out anyway?"

"You don't really expect me to answer that one, do you?" One of Emiya's eyebrows rose to his hairline.

"Eh, it was worth a shot," the Enforcer admitted shamelessly with a shrug. "I was hoping to catch you off guard, but I guess it would have been too easy. Well, we're done here. Now it's time to say goodbye to this hellhole and get back home. I can't wait to lay back and relax for a while. Don't you as well?"

"Relax?" Emiya asked as he started walking after the Enforcer. "I have to study for my entrance exams. The university isn't going to open up for me just because I ask."

"University," The Enforcer trailed off and then chuckled. "I give up on figuring you out, kid. A magus going to a university, what is the world coming to?"

"Hey, I have my own ambitions, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever; university, and Zelrecht actually is sane!"

The Enforcer ignored the younger magus' protest, satisfied with himself that he managed to clear Emiya's golden eyes from the sadness of all those lost lives. For a person who bore the name of Magus Killer he was far too much of a good guy.

* * *

><p>The trip back home was fortunately uneventful, but Shirou didn't manage to catch a wink of sleep. In spite of the Enforcer's words and contrary to his apparent cheerfulness during the voyage Shirou couldn't be happy with the outcome of this assignment, even if he was glad that the Enforcers suffered no losses. Then again he wouldn't probably ever be satisfied if even a single life was lost. In the end, that's just how he was.<p>

However he forced himself to put it all behind him. Those people were condemned before he even got there and killing them had been an act of mercy in every way. Yet, sleep eluded him like a whimsical lover and it was perhaps a good thing, everything considered. It was hard to say what kind of dreams he would have had if he managed to fall asleep.

One plane and one car ride later, Shirou was again in front of the steps of the Hinata-sou, not even forty eight hours after he had left, though he felt like he had been fighting for over a week considering ow exhausted he felt. His Prana was at an all-time low and even what he had stocked had been consumed. Two frigging moths worth of Prana gone in one sitting, Not that he complained or regretted. If he didn't resort to _that _he wasn't sure he could have won, even if he deployed his Reality Marble.

"Even now I can't really do anything without your support," he muttered to himself as he climbed up the stairs to the inn. He still had to open the front door but he could already tell that something was wrong. The tenants were discussing in the dining room, judging by the direction of their sound, and quite animatedly at that, judging by the sheer volume of their voices.

Silently, he let himself in.

"We have to do something!" Narusegawa all but shouted slamming the palm of her hand on the kitchen table.

"Whoa, there Naru," Kitsune held both her hand up in a placating fashion. "What do you expect us to do? They're her family and she went with them willingly. What right do we have to stick our noses into her business?"

"Yeah, willingly, right," Narusegawa snorted. "Did you even see the look on her face when she left with them?"

"I-I agree with Naru-senpai," Shinobu intervened timidly. "Maybe we can't have a say in whatever is going on with her family, b-but at least we should let her know she has our support?"

"Yeah," Suu agreed with her usual cheerfulness. "Besides I always wanted to visit Motoko's place."

"Well, that settles it," Narusegawa decided, "we're going to Kyoto."

Ah, so that's was the problem. He had to know that if something happened it would when he was otherwise occupied. He was actually very lucky when it came to extraordinary or supernatural things, pulling off and surviving feats that would have killed anybody else twice over, but everyday life? That was an entirely different matter.

"You're doing nothing of the sort," Shirou declared flatly, entering the room and letting his presence being known.

"WAAAAH!" the girls, with the exception of Suu, shouted in surprise.

"E-E-E-Emiya-san, you're back!" Shinobu observed as a manner of greeting.

"Don't do that!" Narusegawa and Konno opted to say instead, glaring at him.

"Sorry," he scratched his head. "I'm a bit tired. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Yeah," Konno agreed, recovering from the shock, "you kind of look dead on your feet. Had rough day at work?"

"Forget about that," Naru cut in. "What did you mean before?"

"I mean that you're not going at Motoko's place. The situation is already complex as it is without you adding any more drama to it."

"Like I care what you think," the brunette glared. "But, I'm not leaving my friend fend for herself."

"I didn't say that she would have to be by herself," Shirou shook his head. "You're staying; I'm going."

"Wait, wait, wait," Narusegawa held up her hand. "Why you and not us, we've known her for far longer than you have."

"Because I have a responsibility that you don't have," he explained. "Regardless of who was correct in our argument; I took away her sword. Until she finds her reason to hold it again I have the duty to see that she's in good health."

"That's just your own reasoning with no actual basis in the real world," Narusegawa flat out declared. Shirou blinked. She had figured him out immediately. Most people were usually stumped by his twisted reasoning but she had nailed him on the spot.

"Yeah," he admitted. "That's entirely my selfish reasoning. No one asked me to do anything and I didn't promise anything to Motoko or her family either."

"Fine," Narusegawa snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Then my selfish reasoning says that I have to stand by my friend. Who's with me?"

Three hands went up.

"…Fine, suit yourself," Shirou sighed resignedly. "I'm too tired to argue anyway. I leave in half an hour. If you want to come with me, be ready by then."

He left the room without waiting for confirmations. Frankly, it was better if they didn't come but he really had no valid argument or any authority to make then stay. Hopefully this matter was nothing out of the ordinary, but Shirou knew that he wasn't that lucky. _'Damn your E ranked Luck'_

* * *

><p>"Well, that was new," Kitsune commented when she was fairly sure Emiya was out of earshot. "It's the first time I see him being that impatient."<p>

"So?" Naru asked. "What do you care?"

"Nothing, just wondering what could have finally tried his patience like that. Even when he argued with us he was pretty much calm and level headed."

"Yes, well, we have more important things to worry about than that man's ego right now. I'm going to get ready."

"Me too," Shinobu chimed in.

"Yay, field trip!" Kaolla cheered, darting off the room.

"Well, no use in staying here if all the fun is going to go to Kyoto," Kitsune agreed.

"We aren't doing this for fun, Kitsune," Naru said flatly.

"I said that it's going to be fun there not that we're going because of it."

"…You're thinking that Emiya is going to do something crazy again, don't you."

"I'm totally sure of it," the resident fox grinned broadly. "I ain't gonna miss that for any reason in the world."

"Gods, you're insufferable sometimes."

"Oh, you love me and you know it."

"Just go get yourself ready," Naru sighed, though she didn't deny Kitsune's claims, "least you want to lose your 'fun'."

"Heavens forbid," Kitsune exclaimed in mock indignation before running to her own room.

None of them truly understood how complicated the situation actually was. They would soon be enlightened on the harshness of their friend's life.

* * *

><p>Shirou entered his room, threw away is luggage and retrieved Shisui from its resting place. Slowly he slid the sword out of the scabbard, staring at his own reflection on the steel blade.<p>

"This is what you want, right?"

A faint hum answered his question. He already knew what Shisui wanted: to fulfill the purpose it had been created and wielded centuries before, to accompany someone worthy of being the heir to the Shinmei-ryu. Because of this reason it sang in Shirou's hands and because it was what Motoko truly wanted for herself, he had taken it away from her. A painful but needed step for the teenage girl to grow as a person before walking the path of the sword, a necessary challenge that even Motoko herself had understood.

They never really did speak of it but Shirou knew that the raven haired girl had realized that what Shirou meant by "living as a woman" was actually developing her own strength instead of seeking it into a weapon. He had happily watched as the person filled with anger and hostility had faced her fears and tried to improve herself in everyday life, blossoming into her own potential.

It was too soon yet, but there was no more time. No, perhaps there was no better time than this. This was the last challenge that Motoko needed to undertake in order to test her convictions. If in spite of whatever Motoko's family had in store for her, if she decided to keep walking the path of the sword then he would do his utmost best to see this wish fulfilled.

With a soft click her sheathed Shisui once more and then put it into a white satchel used to carry bokuto and shinai, and flinging it over his shoulders. As he left the room he grabbed his bag before heading out.

Destination: Kyoto.

* * *

><p>In spite of their last minute decision, Shirou and the girls managed to board the next bullet train. During the trip, Shirou pondered over his decision to interfere with the internal dealings of the Aoyama family. Like he had said to Narusegawa, he had made no promise whatsoever. Even if the current situation could probably be blamed on Motoko losing their duel it was still not his responsibility to see that she was fine with the outcome.<p>

It was, he privately agreed, his own selfish wish to help that drove him. He was aware that he had no way to know beforehand if his intromission would improve or worsen the situation. With sad finality he had to admit to himself that Kirei had been right about him all those years ago. His wish to help someone was undeniably the same as wishing that someone would be in danger of damnation.

He wanted to be a hero, right. The notion was almost laughable. He was far too selfish to consider himself one. And yet, for all his admitted selfishness he could not come to believe that wanting to help other was wrong and so he was caught in this inescapable paradox.

Whether that left him as the good guy or as the bad guy, he didn't really know. All he could do was yet again chase after what he considered right, hoping to be able to save at least one person.

At least one life saved.  
>Just one life saved from the darkness.<p>

…  
>…<p>

"-ya-san," Shinobu's voice reached out to him and Shirou's eyes snapped open. Unbelievably he had fallen asleep.

"Sorry, Shinobu, I dozed off."

"Don't worry. You must be tired from work. I'm sorry to wake you up but we're almost there."

"Thank you," he shook the cobwebs out if his head. "I'm fine now. Let me get my stuff before the train stops."

He stood and retrieved his bag, filled with the same essential things he had brought on the Apostle hunt as Motoko's sword. Perhaps there would be no need for Shisui at all, but the magus knew that this blade had more reason to be involved with this situation than he himself had. Bringing that sword was perhaps enough of a reason for him to travel all the way to Kyoto.

The train stopped and they stepped into the crowded station at dusk. The setting sun tinged the city with crimson rays, almost like a bad omen. Shirou shook those thoughts from his mind. He was worrying needlessly and being overly melodramatic. There was no reason to believe this entire situation wouldn't blow over with a nice quiet talk.

'_Bullshit,_' HIS voice said._'You know all too well it's not going to be that simple.'_

_'Shut up,'_he snapped back and it took an actual effort not to say it out loud. Still, the observant Shinobu seemed to have noticed his inner turmoil.

"E-Emiya-san," the brunette stuttered. "Your eyes…"

"What's wrong with my eyes?"

"They're… no. It was just a trick of the light."

Shirou looked away and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was too tired and too disappointed with himself. In days like this, when his resolve and mind wavered it was exceedingly difficult to keep HIM at bay. The annoying bastard.

With the address it wasn't much difficult to locate where the Aoyama lived, but it took them a good half an hour to reach the place. And what place it was.

The Aoyama compound was, to put it simply, humongous. Situated in one of the oldest part of the city, the family private residence was at the top of an hill covered by a forest. The propriety, however, extended all the way downhill where the public area composed by several dojo and other traditional Japanese establishments were situated. The girls were understandably slack-jawed at the sight and in a different situation Shirou too would have been slightly taken aback at the sheer amount of wealth. However, his attention was swayed by another matter entirely.

"This is bad," he murmured to himself. He had always been good at detecting unnaturalness and this place just felt wrong. Not quite_'Bloodfort Andromeda'_wrong, but still wrong enough to make him slightly nauseous. It wasn't any form of Magecraft, as it was too_raw_and unchecked to qualify as such, but the place just reeked badly, as if the atmosphere had been exposed to something on the verge of rotting, if not quite rotting yet. It was the smell of a festering wound.

This was so not going to be a simple matter. Not by a long shot.

* * *

><p>Motoko sat in the room she had been given, sitting seiza while wearing only a white hakama, left alone to meditate in preparation of the upcoming family council.<p>

All the elders had been called to attend, which meant that _he _as well was going to be there. Not that she expected anything different, that monster would no doubt take great pleasure in seeing her shamed.

She knew that this situation was exactly what he had been waiting for since that day, twelve years ago. Well, he finally got what he wanted but she wouldn't give him the pleasure of showing him any emotion. She no longer was the little girl who had taken up the sword because she had nowhere else to hide.

She was a woman now. She was a woman and she would live as one.

She tightened her fist resting in her lap. She knew where this would go. It was what she expected years before if she hadn't been so adamant in choosing the way of the sword. She could still remember clearly how _he _opposed the idea of her actually wanting to compete for the title of heir. It was only because aneue had interceded for her that the council finally accepted her wish and allowed her to continue practicing the family style.

In hindsight it had been as much as a salvation early on as it had been a damnation afterward. Ultimately, like Emiya pointed out, she had been just running away and now her past had finally caught up with her. Well, no more running for her, now.

She knew already what the decision of the council would be in light of her loss of Shisui and she knew that even her sister's intervention would not change the outcome this time.

However, that didn't mean she would just accept that decision and comply with it. There is always room for a choice if one is willing to live with the consequences. It would be difficult without a doubt, but this time she would not shrink away.

Now that her resolve was made all she had to do was to wait until it was time to act upon it.

* * *

><p>The situation was not good, Tsuruko thought to herself as she took a stroll through the streets of Kyoto to clear her mind.<p>

Ultimately it couldn't be helped. She knew that this day would come sooner or later, but she had hoped that by then Motoko had actually grown past her trauma and embraced the way of the sword in its fullest, unlocking her true potential or, failing that, learned how to live without having a sword constantly by her side.

Ironically, that was what really made Motoko look past the edge of her blade was the same thing that propelled the situation past the point of no return. She didn't hold anything against Shirou for acting as he did. In fact he had shown much more restraint than most other people would have in the same situation and ultimately he had acted out of Motoko's best interests.

It didn't change the fact that Shirou's help had indeed thrown Motoko past the edge of a very high cliff and it was now up to her to sustain the fall. Tsuruko would, of course, support her sister as much as possible but in the end she had no actual authority over the council. The heir was a prominent figure in the Aoyama family, no doubt, and her word would certainly be kept in consideration, but it didn't change the fact that Motoko's own recent actions had declared her not fit to be a challenger for the title.

Now the event of twelve years ago would restart once more and Motoko would be condemned to walk a path she neither chose nor liked and Tsuruko could do very little to prevent it. It was already decide even if judgment still had to be passed and no one inside the family could or would do anything about it.

If there only was an outstanding external factor she could pull in to tip the scale in Motoko's favor then the outcome could be different, but what and where could she find such a thing and in such a short time?

As she racked her brain searching for a solution, Tsuruko stepped on the street that led up to her family grounds, her eyes meeting the figures standing before the gates and looking up at the Aoyama's property.

And then, in spite of the gravity of the situation, Tsuruko's lips curled up in a smile.

* * *

><p>"Ara, we weren't expecting visitors at this hour."<p>

A known voice distracted the magus from his nefarious thoughts. Shirou Emiya turned to look at Tsuruko Aoyama. It took once glance to the glint in her eyes to know beyond any doubt that she was up to something. Then again, she was always up to something when he was around.

"Good evening, Tsuruko-nee," he greeted warmly and the girls did the same. "We're sorry to drop in unannounced, but we were hoping to see Motoko. She left in quite a hurry so we wanted to make sure she was fine."

"Oh, my," the raven haired beauty laughed. "It's a relief to know she had made such good friends during her stay at the Hinata-sou, but I'm afraid that she's currently unavailable."

"Oh?" Shirou cocked his head. "And when exactly is she going be available again?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure exactly," Tsuruko replied in a casual tone, "but you will certainly know the moment you'll receive the invitation to her marriage."

A moment of silence went by, and then Shirou's eardrums sent a signal of agonizing pain to his brain.

**"WHAAAAAT!"**

The sound was high pitched as it was loud, and it came simultaneously from three different voices. Shirou just cringed, not so much at the bombshell Tsuruko had dropped like it was yesterday's weather report, but at the sheer volume the tenants used to convey their shock.

"M-m-married?" Shinobu shrieked.

"To who?" Narusegawa and Konno asked simultaneously.

"Is marriage good to eat?" Kaolla cued in.

"Small details such as the date and the husband are yet to be decided, I'm afraid," Tsuruko explained as if it was something trivial, using words that clearly outline the arranged nature of the wedding-to-come, "though if you call tomorrow there is probably going to be more to say on the matter."

This meant that such decisions were likely to be made that night. But why was she telling them such a thing? Even if the Aoyama lived pretty much secluded, Tsuruko wasn't a hermit and she was bound to know that something as an arranged marriage would upset them.

… Unless she was trying to goad them into doing something about it, perhaps interfering with it to the point of stopping it from happening. Forget about Konno, the real fox here was Tsuruko.

"No way," Narusegawa protested. "An arranged marriage in this day and age, you've gotta be kidding me."

"Why is she even getting married all of a sudden?" Konno asked, glancing at Shirou. "That's because of that duel, isn't it?"

"We're not going to stand for this," Narusegawa continued vehemently. "We're going to see Motoko, right now."

"As I said it's not possible at the moment, but I'll make sure to convey you're well-wishes. Motoko will be overjoyed to know you care about her so much. Now I really must leave you, there's a family meeting I have to attend in a couple of hours and I'd like to prepare. Such formal events are quite taxing after all. Good bye and thank you for coming."

"Wait," Narusegawa run after Tsuruko, who had walked past the gate that opened to the stairs that led uphill. The brunette was halted by two mendacious looking men wearing a black kimono who stood guard at each side of the gate. Neither of them reached for their katana but their expression made it pretty clear that they wouldn't allow her to move past that point. "I said wait! This isn't fair on Motoko. What has she done to deserve this?"

"It's merely the way of our family. You wouldn't understand."

"We won't accept it!" Narusegawa shouted.

"Then do something about it." Tsuruko replied, but her eyes weren't set on the other girl but they were rather locked on Shirou, whose hand was clenching around Shisui's clothed hilt. The redhead magus could discern a challenge from an invitation and he was sure that her statement counted as both.

Shirou Emiya's eyes narrowed.

Tsuruko Aoyama's smile widened.

The swordswoman then spun around and resumed her climb, ignoring the shouts of outrage for the brunette that continued until she was out of sight.

"Let's go," Shirou declared after a moment.

"What? Are you just going to give up like this?" Narusegawa shrieked. "Weren't you the one who said you had a responsibility to see that Motoko was fine?"

"Then what do you propose we do? Storm a place full of trained sword users and kidnap her? Even if I agree with your opinion that's a crime, you know? Motoko is still a minor and she didn't object to be taken here either. So, what do you think we should do?"

"I… I… I don't know," she admitted resignedly. "I… we can't just let Motoko face something like this on her own."

"… For the time being, We have to go find us a place to stay for the night. It's a bit late to go back and we just arrived anyway. Let's wait until tomorrow at least. Something might chance in the meantime."

"Fine!" she scoffed, not all too pleased with their inability to make a difference. "I packed a change of clothes in case we had to spend the night out anyway."

"Good thinking," Shirou agreed. "Do you have everything you need or should we shop for something before?"

After getting confirmation that they all came prepared for the eventuality of not returning home for the night, Shirou looked for a cheap inn and led them there.

By Tsuruko's admission, he had two hours to come up with a plan and enact it. Therefore, keeping in consideration the law of Murphy that seemed to plague his life almost constantly he decided to cut that time down to a hour, just enough for the sun to slip completely past the horizon and for the city to be covered in darkness… and for him to take a shower.

He needed one very badly for a number of reasons that went from washing away the tiredness to getting rid of his body odor. Let it be known that even the strongest warrior didn't come out from a fight smelling like roses. Not even with Magecraft.

* * *

><p>An hour later<p>

They managed to find an inn just a short walk away. It was a small ryokan, as expected from the most traditional part of the city, where the Aoyama compound was situated. It didn't have showers but it had an onsen, which was much more welcome to Shirou's tired body. Avalon made wonders for his wounds but it had no effect on tiredness and soreness. Ten minutes in the hot water was enough to make him recuperate a bit of his vigor.

Once he was done he dried himself quickly and changed in something more appropriate for the coming challenge. There was no doubt in his mind that the situation wouldn't be solved with just a talk, but rather with a talk preceded with lots of fighting, more talks and probably more fighting. That's just how things went around him it seemed.

He never really worked in optimal situations but this time around things were even worse. He was about to attack a place he didn't have any information about. The layout was unknown and even scouting using reinforced vision wasn't particularly useful considering the vegetation that covered the hill and by extension the buildings. Essentially he was about to storm an unknown location, filled with unknown numbers of hostile forces and with an unknown level of skills.

On top of that he had to avoid using his most esoteric abilities, to protect the secret of Magecraft, all the while trying not to kill or harm seriously people who were just protecting their homes from an armed intruder and somehow convince Motoko's parents, guardians or whatever not to go ahead with an arranged marriage because he said so.

Holy shit, he was really, really bad at doing heroic stuff.

_'I told you so.'_

_'Fuck you.'_

_'Wouldn't that count as masturbation?'_

Shirou stopped what he was doing and took a deep, slow breath. That last line he had imagined it in Rin's voice and _that _was way worse than having his own doubts and low self-esteem rubbed in his face, mostly because that was exactly something Rin would say and that was a disturbing thought in its own right.

Rin was in London and the annoying bastard was back into the cage of his own choosing. The ghost of his memory was the only thing of him that was left behind, nothing but a figment of his imagination.

_'You just keep telling yourself that.'_

He decided to ignore the phantom of his potential future self and went to get ready. He hadn't foreseen a fight so he hadn't brought any defensive equipment, but then again when did he need to bring any equipment at all? He was his own armory and what he didn't have he could make himself on the spot.

Anyway he discarded his civilian clothing for something more adequate to the situation: a black, form fitting sleeveless shirt and a pair of brown, baggy pants. A good balance for inconspicuousness, mobility and stealth; the final touch was a pair of fingerless gloves with a steel plate on the back of the hand as a last resort to stop a weapon that slipped past his guard.

Actually, the last item was mostly for deception purposes. His toughest armor wasn't above his clothes but rather under his skin, but he needed at least something to use as an excuse if he wasn't cut too deeply if he ever had to deflect a weapon using his body. It couldn't justify half the things he could survive but people's tendency to rationalize what they see made up for it most of the time.

Now that he was a bit more lucid, a bit more rested and a bit more prepared he could go ahead stick his neck in yet another potentially lethal situation. … Seriously, even he had admitted that it wasn't a wonder anymore why his lovers were constantly worried about him. Next time he went back to Fuyuki or London he would bring the girls flowers, sweets or whatever they liked more. They certainly deserved all of those and more for putting up with him all the time.

But those were thoughts for another time. Now he had to focus only in solving the present situation, possibly without killing anyone and without being killed. Even though his complete disregard for his own life hadn't changed he didn't really want to trouble other people with his death if he could.

Besides, they would inevitably grieve him and that notion, almost completely alien to him who was still struggling to value his own life at all, was the only thing that restrained his most suicidal behaviors. That and the fact that he had yet to become the hero he promised her he'd become.

And he was again getting distracted. The Magus Killer shook his head one last time. Now he had to focus on the coming task and nothing else. Needless distractions would only serve to increase the already high chances of something going wrong.

Taking Shisui, still wrapped in the white cloth, Shirou left from the window so to avoid being see by the Hinata girls. The last thing he needed was to protect them while he went about this business. Without looking back he slipped into a back alley and unseen he made his way to the streets of Kyoto.

* * *

><p>Naru walked out of the onsen, toweling her still damp hair, along with Kitsune. Soaking in the hot water helped to partially melt her frustration at the current situation but it hadn't offered any solution.<p>

Motoko was going to get married because of some old-fashioned family custom and only because she had lost a duel. It didn't sit well with her that a woman, any woman, could be treated like a good to trade. Did Motoko's feeling matter so little to her family that they had no problem in giving her away to a man she hadn't chosen? Even if their opinion of men, both hers and Motoko's, had taken a beating recently it didn't change the fact that she didn't trust them on a general basis and with some good reasons.

Okay, maybe Emiya had shown that he wasn't a Grade-A asshole and a pervert, which was good. Statistically speaking it was bound to happen that a decent person would come out of the lot, but ultimately it was better to keep men at a distance until their true character was ascertained. With the wisdom granted by hindsight it was a bad idea to trust a man just because he appeared to be nice and trustworthy.

But Motoko was being deprived of this option. Even forgetting that forcing a person into marriage was illegal, something that could be hard to prove, especially if Motoko agreed with it, it just wasn't right to force a woman to be with someone she didn't care about.

And yet she didn't know what to do about it. The discussion she had with the girls while bathing didn't produce any viable course of action to stop this madness and even the usually reliable Kanrinin seemed stumped as to how to proceed.

That didn't mean she was about to give up, of course. Even if she had to stay up all night she would come up with a solution and even if they couldn't get any saying in the family meeting that was going to take place they could at least do something afterward. It wasn't like Motoko was going to get married tomorrow anyway.

"Shinobu, could you please tell Emiya-san to join us, I want to discuss with him what to do about Motoko. He gave me the impression he had at least an idea earlier."

"I'll go right away," the younger girl agreed, immediately heading for his room. Naru went to the room she shared with the other girls and not a moment after she had gotten there Shinobu came back running with a look of worry on her face.

"Naru-senpai, Emiya-san is not in his room."

"Did he go for a stroll in a moment like this?" she frowned.

"I-I don't think so. I didn't see Motoko-senpai's swords anywhere in his room either."

"… Wait, why would he take the sword…?" Mistune trailed off, her eyes widening. "You don't think he really went to…?"

"Oh, that utterly, unbelievable asshole," Naru groaned, "Come on, we're going after him."

"Wait Naru-"

But Naru had no intention to listen to any protest. She came to Kyoto to help a friend and she would be damned before she would be left behind while that man wanted to play macho all on his own. She didn't need to look back to know that Shinobu, Kaolla and Mitsune were following shortly behind.

The road that led to the Aoyama compound was pretty much secluded and trifurcated probably only by those who either lived in the area or that had business with the Aoyama themselves. They didn't run into anyone until they reached the gates where the guards stopped Naru from chasing after Tsuruko, a little over an hour later. They were still there if fact, by each side of the gate…on the ground…and unconscious.

"Eeek!" Shinobu shrieked at the sight of their eyes, rolled in the back of their heads and the foaming mouths.

"Oh shit," Kitsune preferred to say instead. "He actually did break in."

The gate was left wide open and the long flight of stairs disappeared between the trees and the darkness of the moonless night.

"… Let's go," Naru declared after a moment of hesitation.

"What? Are you kidding? Naru, If Shirou is really going to kidnap Motoko we're going to be considered accomplices when he gets caught. There's jail for kidnappers, you know?"

"I know, I know, I know," the brunette replied, annoyed. "I just… I just can't trust that man to get things right, alright? Besides it's not like we attacked anyone and the gate was already open when we got here. I'm sure no one would blame four girls of harming anyone, right?" Come on, let's go."

She started running up the stairs, again not waiting for an answer from her friends. Even if she had to go alone she wouldn't leave Motoko's future in the hand of a man. Not if she could help it.

* * *

><p>Shirou's feet made nearly no noise as he run at high speed through the mostly empty streets of the old part of Kyoto. He took a not straight path to reach his destination, trying to avoid being seen as much as possible for while he wasn't using any enhancement yet he was still a suspicious looking figure.<p>

His legs carried him almost effortlessly through a maze of back alleys, taking him to his intended destination in a matter of minutes.

He realized his mistake as soon as he stepped within the boundaries of that decaying-smelling area, but it was too late to rethink his course of action now.

He had heavily underestimated these people ability to perceive changes in the atmosphere. The unnatural aura of that was quite peculiar and the people who lived there were highly attuned to it. Consequentially even a minor disturbance was immediately perceived in a great radius. Actually he wasn't even in sight of the gate that the guards had already drawn their blades, waiting for him to show up.

Admittedly he could have ignored them, jumped past the wall that surrounded most of the property and made his way through the woods, but it would have only made things more difficult. These people could pinpoint his location with certain accuracy and knew the lay of the land better than he did. Hiding was therefore pointless and doing so among the trees where speed and mobility were impaired was not a good idea. Not when they were as fundamental as when facing multiple opponents.

Therefore he made the split-second decision not to bother hiding at all and taking the shortest path ahead instead, past the guards and beyond the gates. Conflict was likely to be unavoidable at this point, but what hell, he had been in worse situation with far less resources. Then again, few things ranked up to _'scary' _anymore after standing up to Zeus' enraged son. He was more worried for the wellbeing of those people he'd have to fight rather than his own, but that too was old news to anyone who actually knew him.

So, without so much as a clue as to where he was actually headed, Shirou decided to stick to his usual course of action: winging it!

The guards at the entrance where in dreamland before they even caught a glimpse of his face, poor guys' ego was going to be more bruised than the place where he had struck them, but one doesn't really worry about politeness when he's sticking the hilt of a sword in someone else's gut before breaking into their houses, right?

He pushed the gate open and with a slight Reinforcement he ran up the stairs. If he was lucky enough he would still manage to ambush and overpower whatever opposition he was bound to find on his way and maybe rough them up some of them for information on Motoko's location.

Just a normal moment in the life of Shirou Emiya, or as Rin liked to call him, that idiot.

"Stop right there, intruder!" Random swordsman #3 demanded upon seeing Shirou running in his direction. The hapless fellow's sword was halfway out of its scabbard when Shirou's fist connected with his stomach, causing him to let go of his weapon and folding like a single pair, seven high.

Shirou caught the man by the collar of his kimono and stared him square in the eyes.

"Motoko Aoyama. Where is she?"

"At this hour," he gasped for breath, "she's already at the meeting. You'll find her in the only building on the second clearing straight ahead."

Shirou blinked. Seriously, a hardened swordsman giving away the information he needed without needing to break a single bone or even use what little hypnosis he could perform? It smelled awfully like a trap. The man seemed to understand Shirou's reluctance to take this information at face value and smiled maliciously. "Our strongest fighters are gathered there. It's the lion's den you're heading into. There's no need for me to point you anywhere else but toward your own death."

Ah, that made more sense. For a moment Shirou was actually worried things were going his way for once. He wouldn't have known how to deal with that.

"Thanks," he replied honestly, shortly before knocking the lights out of him with a well-aimed punch. He placed the now unconscious man on the ground as gently as he could and then resumed his run.

Second clearing up ahead, second clearing up ahead, second clearing up ahead. … Hm. Didn't that mean there was going to be a first clearing up ahead or something?

Right on time, said clearing opened up before him a few steps later. Shirou was greeted by at a group of at least thirty men and women of sharp eyes and shaper blades.

The redhead skidded to a halt practically in the middle of the lot. They immediately moved to close the way he had come from.

"If I ask real nicely, would you let me through?" he asked politely. As politely as a armed man trespassing in someone else's property could, anyway.

"Get him!" one shouted.

"Didn't think so," he sighed resignedly. Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

><p>A knock at her door snapped Motoko out of thoughts.<p>

"Imouto," her sister voice called, before opening the door. "It's time."

Motoko, still sitting on her heels opened her eyes and started at her aneue firmly.

"I'm ready."

The younger sister could see a spark of satisfaction in the other's eyes. She had grown, yes. Forcefully, but she had grown. She no longer allowed her fears to dictate her choices and she wouldn't let anyone but herself determinate her future. From here henceforth, even if both paths were not of her liking she would at least walk the one of her choosing.

She followed her sister along the familiar corridors. It had been years since she had been in this place and she hadn't missed it in the slightest. Perhaps it was hypocritical of her, not wanting to reject her heritage but at the same time not wanting to embrace it either.

It would all change now, though. Her decision was made and while it was the same as twelve years before it was not for the same reasons and it would certainly not bear the same results.

Somehow, Tsuruko seemed to read her thoughts and stopped before they reached the meeting room.

"Imouto, don't give up hope yet. You are not alone in this endeavor."

"Aneue," Motoko smiled, "this time even your intercession won't save me, but it is fine. I will not shy away from the consequences of my choices."

"You truly have grown Motoko," the elder sister returned the smile, "but you are mistaken. It is not me who will be by your side this time."

"Who else could stand up in my defense in a moment like this, aneue?" the younger sister inquired. Try as she might she couldn't imagine anyone who would support her cause. No one did the last time and they certainly had no better reasons to do so now.

"Who knows?" Tsuruko said mysteriously with an amused smile. "A hero might show up at the last minute."

"A…hero," Motoko frowned. "Aneue, have you been reading those cheesy novels again?"

Tsuruko answer was just a wider smile, before she scolded her features and pulled the door open walking in the wide room used for the family gatherings. Motoko was about to follow but she stopped in her tracks, turning her head slightly to the side.

For a moment she thought she heard the sound of clashing steel in the distance. She shook her head. It must have been her imagination.

* * *

><p>Naru had far more stamina and strength than the average girl who spent most of her times on books, but even then the steep, seemingly never-ending flight of stairs was more than she could take in one go.<p>

The initial sprint turned into a slow climb and ultimately slowed down to a walk. The other girls were behind, but not too far.

They had passed another unconscious man on the way up, but after checking that he was alive and breathing they left him there and continued up.

"How long… do these… goddamn stairs… keep going?" Kitsune complained, catching up with her.

"I can see a landing up ahead," Naru replied.

"Thank God!"

With a last effort they reached the landing, where the forest cleared into an opening with several buildings. There, upon putting simultaneously one foot each on the last step, they froze. A good minute later Shinobu caught up with them along with Kaolla, who had obviously stayed behind with Shinobu judging by the way she bounced around.

"Naru-senpai, Mitsune-san, What's wrong-!"

Much like the older girls, Shinobu stopped in her tracks as soon as her eyes settled on the scene. Even Kaolla seemingly restless bouncing reached an abrupt end.

"H-H-H-H- Holy shit." was Kitsune descriptive comment after a good minute of staring in disbelief.

A warzone, it was the best way to define the place they were staring at, a bloody warzone. Bodies lied scattered around, a few were even hanging from a fairly high tree branch. Some of the walls of the buildings had holes in shape of a person, as if several people had been flung at high velocity through the wooden surface.

There was no noticeable blood anywhere to be seen and the bodies groaned and moaned in pain so they were very clearly alive in not all that well.

"No fucking way," Kitsune continued. "This… this can't be the work of a single person. An army! He must have brought an army or something."

"… Monster," one of the fallen swordsmen groaned. "That guy… is a monster."

A moment of silent disbelief fell upon the group of four girls, which was abruptly interrupted when a lightning struck the ground higher up the hill.

"Kyaaa!" they shrieked simultaneously. They looked to the sky, but there wasn't a single cloud from where it could have originated.

"What the…!"

A second lightening followed and a third answered a short moment later. They didn't come from the sky but they seemingly originated from the ground and rose up like pillars. The sounds of explosions followed the show of light and the sound of clashing steel echoed thunderously in their ear.

"No, seriously, what the ACTUAL FUCK IS GOING ON UP THERE?" Kitsune exploded. Naru was pale as a ghost and Shinobu was clutching Kaolla for dear life. Even usually unshakably cheerful girl had a look of fear in her eyes.

That was a question all of them would have wanted to be answered.

* * *

><p>Shirou panted heavily. The battle had continued on the way up as more people joined the fight. They weren't half bad with a sword and it showed. If it wasn't because he was so used to fight things beyond the scope of humanity he would have lost in a heartbeat.<p>

Normally, a single person fighting several opponents had the opportunity of using friendly fire at his advantage, using the enemy's numbers against them. In Shirou's case that too worked against him, as he was actively trying not to harm his opponents. He was forced to take a few hits that would otherwise have struck another person. It was nothing major, thanks to his Reinforcement of his clothes and body, but he was still bleeding from several cuts and more importantly he was running out of stamina.

He was almost there though. He could already see the second clearing opening up ahead and the enemy's numbers were starting to dwindle.

With a last effort he knocked down the two swordsmen that were trying to slash at him from the higher ground, pushing past the last steps of stairs and finally landing on the second clearing.

"Almost there," he wheezed, short of breath while five more warriors run toward him, swords in hand. "Great, there really is no rest for the weary." He clutched the still sheathed Shisui tighter and stepped toward the incoming danger.

* * *

><p>Motoko sat in the middle of the room.<p>

Behind her sat the senior instructors, most of whom belonged to branches of the main family, while Tsuruko sat to the side in the spot reserved for the school's heir. At the end of the room there was a stage, slightly higher than the rest of the ground, with four cushions placed on it. The spots reserved for the elders.

A door to the side opened and four figures clad in simple yet refined black kimonos entered. Motoko's eyes fixed on_him_and didn't let go for a single moment. Her heartbeat accelerated and the old fear rose up to her chest.

They sat in their places and for the first time in years they eyes met.

"Motoko," he greeted emotionlessly.

"Chichiue (father)," she replied coldly in a plain voice. Her voice didn't waver nor did her gaze. One minute became two and he finally looked away, shame reflected in his eyes. A small victorious smirk appeared on Motoko's lips. It was a small victory, but it was a victory nonetheless. The second one she had been granted in twelve years.

Another of the elders coughed and the attention was restored.

"Motoko," the aged swordsman began. "Twelve years ago you sat before this council and declared you would have followed the way of the sword, despite the fact that a suitable heir had already been selected. In spite of the law of this family, which states that when two children are born in the main family one only has to inherit the secrets and other has to continue the bloodline, we have graciously conceded you the opportunity of proving yourself worthier than your sisters to become the next heir. Do you recall this, Motoko?"

"Hai, esteemed elder. I do remember it clearly."

"Now, not only it has come to our attention that your behavior outside of these grounds was reason of shame to our name but you have also forfeited your right as a swordsman and lost a precious heirloom in a duel against a stranger. Is this correct?"

"Hai, I now realized that in hindsight that I have not been prohibited from practicing the way of the sword permanently, but only until I found a true inner balance."

"Regardless," the elder pressed on, waving off her excuse, "you don't deny that you have challenged a far superior opponent merely to satiate your personal pride and lost both your honor and a token of your legacy, do you?"

"To my great shame," she cringed, "I do not."

"Very well, Motoko Aoyama, in light of your recent behavior and misdemeanors this council has found you unsuited to challenge your sister for the title of heir. Therefore from now henceforth you are prohibited from practicing the Shinmei-ryu. As the second born of the Aoyama main branch, your duties toward this family are those outlined by our clan's laws. A suitable husband will be chosen for you within the next three weeks and you will join him in marriage as soon as you reach the age of majority."

That sentence was exactly what Motoko knew was coming. She knew this day would eventually come if she failed to surpass her sister and there was one only possible answer she could give. She closed her eyes, gathering her strength for a moment.

"Esteemed elders" she opened her black yes slowly. No uncertainty could be found within them. "I refuse."

A collective, sharp intake of breath answered Motoko's proclamation. Even the elders were taken aback with the only exception of her father. He of all people would have known she wouldn't accept such a fate, but what he didn't know, and it showed in his eyes, was the lack of fear in her that would have caused such a decision in the past.

Yes, this wasn't running away any more. This time for real…

"I will walk the path of the sword," she declared unflinchingly. They were the same words she spoke twelve years before and yet they had an entirely different meaning altogether.

"You reject the judgment of this council?" the elder hissed with narrowed eyes.

"Hai."

"Do you know what it entails?"

"Permanent banishment from this family," she replied.

"Even knowing this, you will follow through with this decision?"

"Yes. For the first time in my life I know what I want. If this means that I will have to face the future on my own then so be it."

"Then-" the elder's attention was drawn to the shouts and noises coming from the courtyard. "What's with this racket? Find out what's going on and out a stop to it."

A man at the end of the room stood, bowed and left to carry out that order.

"As I was saying," he resumed "if that is your decision you will be struck form this family. As the law of this country dictates we will provide for you until you reach the age of majority after which we will cut all ties with you. In addition, starting immediately, you will no longer bear the name of Aoyama and will use your mother's maiden name. Do you acknowledge this?"

"Hai," she replied simply.

The elders looked at each other, whispering something, before nodding. The spokesman for the elder stood and regarded her with a haughty look.

"Aoyama Motoko," he began, "with the authority bestowed me by this council I hereby ba-"CRASH!"-BUH!"

The outer wall exploded in a shower of splinters and the body of the instructor who had left just moment earlier flew in from outside, slamming against the elder and sending both crashing on the wall behind in an almost comical fashion.

With the exception of Motoko and Tsuruko, who was hiding her broad smile behind her sleeve, everyone stood and reached for their weapons. Countless hisses accompanied an equal number of weapons unsheathing.

Then, from the hole in the wall, the last man she expected to see in that place walked in almost casually.

In his hand was the familiar form of Shisui, clad in a white satchel ripped in various places. His black shirt was cut on the chest, a faint line of blood dribbling down his skin, hinting to a barely avoided blow. His forehead was marred with sweat and his breath was ragged, a clear sign of the battles he had to go through to reach that place.

Shirou Emiya stood in a room filled to the brim with the most skilled fighters of the entire clan and yet his gaze didn't linger on their hostile forms, quickly scanning the crowd and settling firmly on her

His golden eyes found hers and his steely expression softened in relief at seeing her well.

Motoko's heart suddenly lurched in a way she had never experienced before while an foreign warmth rose to her chest and cheeks.

"What did I tell you, Motoko-chan?" Tsuruko whispered conspiratorially. "Sometimes a hero shows up at the last possible moment."

Motoko could only nod dumbly in response, far too occupied in calming down her own racing heart.

* * *

><p>XXX<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Nope, sorry. I though I could finish the arc with this chapter but I couldn't do it. Next one will definitely will be the last though.<p> 


	14. Rusty Heart (VII)

**Rusty Heart (VII)**  
>(Published: 06.20.2013 - Beta: Obiki Doragon)<p>

* * *

><p>As he fought against the last few standing opponents in front of the building where Motoko was supposed to be, Shirou reinforced his hearing. It would do him no good to enter a building that could be filled with more enemies without making an effort to ascertain Motoko's presence beforehand.<p>

The conversation he eavesdropped was comforting to a degree because it dispelled Shirou's fear about Motoko's wellbeing that was partially caused by the unnaturally wicked atmosphere of the Aoyama compound, but it also upset him a great deal due to the callousness of Motoko's relatives.

Yes, perhaps Shirou had been wrong in choosing violence as a course of action since Motoko was not in immediate danger, but right there and then he didn't feel guilty about smacking these people around a bit. Maybe in the morning he'd regret it, but probably not. Some people just didn't learn without a good beating.

He was snapped out of his musing when another man came running out of the building. He was dressed slightly different from the others. Whereas all the people he fought on his way up wore a simple white uwagi over a black hakama, this person was wearing a finely decorated kamishimo, the traditional clothing of samurais, over an entirely black outfit.

It probably reflected his higher status in the clan's hierarchy, Shirou reasoned, which in a group that prided itself in their ability with the sword certainly meant a higher level of skill as well.

The redhead found confirmation of his suspicions in the split second it took to the newcomer to register his presence, unsheathe his own weapon had unleash a flurry of attacks that couldn't be compared to those of his previous opponents. The speed, the strength and the skill behind each blow was on an entirely different level and Shirou was actually forced to parry and deflect when he would have otherwise resorted to simply dodging.

The Magus had to grimly acknowledge that the words spoken by the man he interrogated earlier where not an empty threat. With his stamina already at its lowest Shirou would soon have been overwhelmed if he didn't have more the one ace in his sleeve.

**"Trace on."**

Prana flooded his body, restoring his physical energy. It was a common trick for a Magus to exchange Prana for stamina, but having been forced to employ Magecraft against a single mundane swordsman was a testament to his opponent skill, though if Shirou had been in a better shape it wouldn't have been too much of an issue.

With his strength renewed Shirou made short work of his opponent, parrying a vicious downward blow with the length of Shisui and then planting a Reinforced kick in the man's stomach. The strength behind Shirou's attack caused the hapless man to gasp out in shock, sending him flying backwards and through the wall, robbing him of his consciousness on the way.

Well, Shirou mused, there suddenly was a perfectly viable entrance that couldn't have been booby trapped. Not that it mattered much when walking in the lion's den, but there was no reason to waste a perfectly good _'Dynamic Entry' _by waking in normally through the door. After all, if experience though him one thing it was that first impressions counted a lot, especially on the battlefield.

With a slow, calculated pace he walked to the makeshift entrance and unceremoniously let himself in. Not at all unexpectedly he found himself surrounded by mean looking swordsmen in the same outfit as the last man he fought.

That was probably not a good thing.

Scanning the room his gaze found Tsuruko, who was doing the a very poor effort to hide her amusement and by her side a surprised looking Motoko, who appeared closer to shocked than surprised by his sudden entrance. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks were strangely flushed, but she seemed to be otherwise in good shape both physically and mentally, not that he had expected anything else.

The firmness in her voice during the conversation he kept listening during the fight was that of a person who made a clear cut choice and wasn't afraid to live with the consequences. She had most certainly grown.

Not that such knowledge improved the situation in the slightest, not for him at least. In fact it made his position much worse as he had in fact staged a rescue operation when there was no one to rescue at all. He didn't feel guilty about it at all, of course, for even if he was in the wrong with his actions, being by Motoko's side in this moment was the right thing to do.

Truly, he was a living contradiction.

But he was in the wrong, that much was undeniable, and as someone in the wrong there was but one thing that that he could do.

Lowering the still sheathed Shisui to the side he a deep breath, straightening his back even further. In response to his movement, the gathered fighters narrowed their eyes and tightened their grips around their weapons even more.

Shirou fixed each and every one of them in the eyes as he exhaled slowly and then…

"I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INTRUSION," he declared loudly enough to almost be a shout, bowing as much as he could and trying to sound as honest and apologetic as possible.

The dropping of all signs of hostility in his body language was so sudden and unanticipated that it gave the entire audience a moment of pause. A few almost lost their balance and fell flat on their faces while the rest glanced at each other skeptically, no doubt wondering the same thing: _'Is this guy actually serious?'_

* * *

><p>A small slap was heard as Tsuruko inelegantly slammed her hand on her mouth, forcibly trying to swallow a fit of laughter that was threatening to erupt unbidden. The effectiveness of her attempt was somewhat lost due to the tears of mirth at the corner of her eyes and the shaking of her shoulders.<p>

She should have known, of course.

Though she has been greatly surprised by Motoko's tale of Shirou's fighting prowess, she never once thought that the polite boy she had befriended almost a decade before and found mostly unchanged after so many years was just a façade. Emiya Shirou was a good man at heart.

A good man with a core of sharp steel, no doubt, but a good man nonetheless. Therefore it shouldn't have been surprising that he apologized for his trespassing and the damage he caused, but it still was absolutely hilarious. Who in their right mind would fight their way through an army of trained swordsmen and apologize for the disturbance immediately thereafter?

It was all the more amusing now that he was glaring at her. It almost caused her to lose it completely and break down laughing. Only the supposed seriousness of the situation gave her enough reasons to restrain herself, that and the fact that even some of the instructor and the elders were eyeing her with arched eyebrows.

She coughed in her hand and restored her composure, if only barely. Her eyes were still tinged with amusement and the corner of her lips was quirked slightly upward. Truly, the hardship of being the clan's heir was, more often than not, maintaining the proper appearance rather than constantly surpassing her limits.

* * *

><p>Motoko was truly and completely shocked.<p>

She couldn't understand what Emiya of all people was doing in Kyoto and what could have possessed him to attack her family. Her _former _family, she inwardly corrected herself.

It didn't make much sense, did it? Moreover it looked like Tsuruko knew this was going to happen, both because of her evident amusement and for her words before the meeting. There was no way she didn't know this would happen.

… In fact she was probably behind the entire situation. It was precisely her style to goad people into doing what she wanted. What had she done or said to cause Emiya, arguably the most peaceful and calm man she ever met, take up arms and storm the Aoyama compound? And for what purpose did that serve? Did she think he could change the council's decision somehow? Preposterous didn't begin to cover that notion.

Strong as he was Emiya had no claims on her nor any sway over the internal matters of the clan. In fact the only connection he had with the Aoyama at all was the sword he had in his hands and…

_'Oh, no; aneue, what were you thinking?'_

"Emiya-san," Motoko spoke, "what are you doing here?"

"Ah," he scratched his head sheepishly, "I heard you were in bit of a tight spot and thought you could use some support. The guards at the entrance weren't inclined to let me through so I had to be a tad forceful. Sorry about that."

"Emiya Shirou," her father spoke as he stood. It didn't take a genius to figure out who the current holder of Shisui was. Aoyama Hisashi was an impressively tall man for a Japanese man and his figure was absolutely imposing, much like his aura. "Or is it Urashima Keitaro?"

A sharp intake of breath from all of the gathered followed Hisashi question. It was no wonder considering what the Urashima name meant for the Aoyama. After so many centuries, was history about to repeat itself?

The last time a single Urashima had stood against the entirety of the Aoyama might, Kyoto had been almost burned to the ground and the clan almost driven into extinction. Motoko wasn't thinking that such an event could be repeated, of course. Similar as the settings could be the factors involved where much different, but in the minds of the Aoyama that tale was a dark reminder of what a single man could do.

"Emiya will do," the redhead replied with a court nod, not missing the shift in the atmosphere at the mention of his birth name. "I'm not yet really used to being an Urashima and the name Emiya has more significance for me."

"Very well," Hisashi acknowledged. "It seems that Tsuruko's judgment of your character wasn't mistaken. I don't suppose you went through all the trouble of fighting our apprentices just to return Shisui."

"Not at all," the redhead agreed. "I came to ask you to reconsider your decision in regards of Motoko's banishment."

"On what grounds," Hisashi asked through narrowed eyes, "and with what right? You don't belong with this family Emiya-san, and your trespassing and aggression certainly don't give you any moral ground to make a request before this council. Return Shisui and we shall forget these transgressions."

Emiya walked past the blades pointed at him, all the way to Motoko's side, and sat unceremoniously sat on the ground by her side, opposite to Tsuruko.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, this sword belongs to Motoko as far as I can understand. I've merely gained temporary custody of it by winning a duel. Now, if Motoko was still part of your family you might actually have a claim over it, but since she isn't you don't."

"And yet you're in this place," Hisashi continued unfazed by Emiya's remarks, "surrounded by the finest swordsmen of this clan. Despite your already proven ability, how difficult do you think it would be to pry it off your hands?"

"Well," Emiya rubbed his chin in mock pondering. "There lots of yours and just one of mine. I can make it more difficult than you probably imagine but it shouldn't be too hard for you to accomplish," he smirked, "but it would be quite hypocritical of you to do so. For all of her faults and misjudgments, Motoko challenged me to a duel putting Shisui on the line. Are you saying that you have even less honor than the family member you banished?"

Far from being offended by such a remark, Hisashi had an amused smirk of his own. "Ah, so you aren't a complete dimwit. What is that you want in exchange of Shisui then? Name your price."

"Heritage for a heritage, return Motoko her own heritage and I will return yours."

"Preposterous," another elder stood on his feet." Hisashi, certainly you don't intend to give in to the demands of this whelp after he violated our home."

"Oh? And what would you do Gosho? Sully our honor and reclaim Shisui by having him beaten up by a higher number of our people?"

"He has attacked us first," Gosho protested. "Honor has nothing to do with defending ourselves."

"You have always been a fool," Hisashi hissed. "Honor has everything to do with everything. It's how we live. It's more than just appearance and if you have forgotten than then perhaps you should join Motoko in her banishment."

"Then challenge him," Gosho protested, anger and embarrassment flashing through his eyes. "He at least owes us as to acquiesce to an honor duel."

"I certainly have an obligation to concede as much," Emiya agreed, unfazed, "though you still have to make a wager of some sort. I came here for a reason and I have something you want."

"Are you suggesting wagering Motoko's readmission to the family and Shisui on the outcome of the duel? Hm, A sword for a family is hardly an equivalent exchange, Emiya-san."

"I suppose it is," he agreed. "I'll sweeten the deal then. If I lose, I'll return Shisui and if I win, I will return it all the same if Motoko were to lose the intended duel against Tsuruko."

"Unacceptable," Gosho returned with a vengeance. "The decision of this council isn't negotiable. One cannot simply dishonor this family and be left unpunished. Even if that wasn't the case no one would accept Motoko as their student at this point. She would have to surpass Tsuruko without the support of any of the instructors."

"Are you saying," Emiya licked his lips predatorily, "that if she surpassed Tsuruko without being taught by any of the instructors you would accept her back into the family? I'm willing to bet on that, you know?"

"Emiya-san," Motoko hissed. "What are you saying?"

Surpassing Tsuruko was already something she wasn't sure she could do, even with years of training before her. Doing so without proper guidance was an impossible endeavor. To an outsider, banishment might not be that much of a deal, but she always prided herself of her lineage and the profound history of her clan. Making the choice of giving it up hadn't been an easy one and she didn't to lose the last remnants of it.

"Only the techniques of the Shinmei-ryu are accepted in a formal duel for the title," Gosho explained with an condescending tone. "Are you suggesting that Motoko can learn them well enough to surpass the current heir without being taught by any of our teachers?"

"Absolutely," the redhead confidently, "In three years I can make her strong enough to beat even Tsuruko."

"Do you believe that just because you've bested Motoko do you consider yourself good enough? What a fool. It's impossible!"

"Are you willing to bet on that?" Emiya prompted, his smile was that of a hunter that had his prey right where he wanted.

"Gosho-" Hisashi began.

"Of course I do!" the now red-faced man shouted.

"- you fool," Hisashi continued, changing his interrupted warning with for a groan of resignation.

"Then we have a deal," Emiya smiled beatifically, clapping his hands once as if to seal the agreement. "I wage Shisui in exchange for Motoko's opportunity to challenge Tsuruko after three years under my tutelage and without any support from any of your instructors."

"What? No, that's not what I- YOU!" Gosho bellowed as soon as realization dawned upon him. "You tricked me, boy."

"Eh, so I did," the redhead shrugged shamelessly, "but what does it matter? Are you planning to go back on your word? That would be a most dishonorable thing to do." Motoko could almost hear the _'tsk-tsk' _in his voice and she would have been amused by it if he was digging an even deeper grave for her.

"You… You…," the elder growled but then he schooled his features. "It's irrelevant. Either way this goes there's no possible way Motoko is ever going to surpass Tsuruko and for that matter neither you are."

"I beg your pardon?" Emiya blinked.

It was Gosho's smile that turned predatory this time.

"You wanted a duel and you shall have it," the elder gloated, "against the heir herself. Consider yourself honored, boy."

* * *

><p>A collective, sharp intake of breath followed the elder's declaration. The only who didn't react in the same way were the elders, Tsuruko, Emiya-san and Motoko herself. In fact the latter's reaction was more along the lines of:<p>

"What! No! Esteemed elder, please reconsider your decision."

"Be silent, child," Gosho replied mercilessly. "Your word within this council bears now as much weight at that outsider's. The decision has been made. Tsuruko, you shall face this man in duel with live blades until he either surrenders, he's disarmed or he dies."

"No!" Motoko whirled to look at the redhead. "Emiya-san you must refuse. Tsuruko-nee, please say something against this foolishness."

Still sitting seiza on her spot, Tsuruko slowly opened her eyes, which she had closed in contemplation, and directed her gaze to a casually sitting Emiya. "I… really want to fight Shirou-kun."

"Eh," the aforementioned man replied with his eyes closed in a way reminiscent of his soon-to-be opponent. "I'm not really looking forward to it, if I have to be honest," he slowly opened them and returned Tsuruko's stare, "but I'm not going to turn my back on my convictions. If that's how it has to be, let's do it."

To Motoko's further horror Tsuruko's thin smile changed to one of pleased eagerness. She really did want to fight against Emiya-san and not in a mock battle either. She knew her sister well, even if she wasn't aiming to actually kill him she wouldn't hold back anything if he could match her skill. There was no way they wouldn't get injured in this fight.

She was snapped out of her dark thoughts when both her sister and Emiya-san stood to their feet and went for the exit of the building.

"Aneue, please stop! Emiya-san, you don't have to do this for my sake," she tried in a last desperate plea. She couldn't live with herself if either of them were to be harmed over her.

"Sorry, Motoko." he answered without turning back, his tone sincerely apologetic. "When it comes to down to doing what I think is right, I'm a very selfish person. I won't change my mind even if the person I'm trying to help doesn't want to be helped at all," he half-turned, giving her a wry smile. "That's just how I am."

* * *

><p>How long had it been, Tsuruko wondered as she walked out of the building with Shirou in tow, since the last time she crossed blades in a real fight against an opponent of skills unknown? Was it months, years? She almost couldn't recall the last foe who gave her a challenge.<p>

Shirou called himself a selfish person and he was probably correct, but the same could be said for her.

Had she allowed him and the others to meet with Motoko, her sister would have talked them out taking any initiative but Tsuruko purposely kept them away to force Shirou into making a move and reach a point of no return that would have undoubtedly lead to this situation.

She did so for her sister's benefit, no doubt, but also because she really wanted to see how strong Shirou actually was. He had to be far above skill level of an instructor of the Shinmei-ryu, since he made short work of one of them after fighting his way through most if not all of the apprentices.

How good was he? How much of a challenge could he put up? Was he stronger than her? What style would he use?

Her heart was already beating at an accelerated rate at the prospect of crossing blades with him. She didn't know where his confidence about Motoko's chances to surpass her in the family style without tutors came from but she didn't particularly care as of that moment.

If he were to win she would make sure to help Motoko behind the council's back. She wasn't a teacher, therefore she wasn't included in the terms of the duel, but she still answered them. If they explicitly forbade her to help Motoko she would have to comply. It was a risky bet, of course, which could result in Motoko regaining everything or losing what little she had but ultimately the former far outweighed the latter therefore it was worth it.

As she pondered this once more, they walked through a small path among the woods, which lead to the secluded dojo where the secret techniques of her family where passed down to those who had proven themselves both capable and worthy. Sliding the door opened the sliding doors and walked inside, taking her place in the middle of the wide room and waited for his opponent to take position a few steps away.

While Shirou removed the tattered cloth that covered Shisui, clearly his weapon of choice for this battle, Gosho approached her.

"Tsuruko, see that you beat some humility into this arrogant outsider; and don't try to fool me, I know what's your opinion in regard of your sister's fate. If you were to lose on purpose the duel would be moot. Give everything you have short of using _that._"

"Of course, esteemed elder," she answered slowly with a respectful tone and a polite smile, but as she turned to look at him her eyes had a steely edge to them. "However, if were ever to insinuate again that I would do anything but my very best in a formal duel, you would be the next to be at the receiving end of an official challenge."

For all of his foolishness and arrogance, the man was a Master swordsman who lived through many difficult battles therefore he didn't turn his gaze away from hers in fear, but he took a careful step back and gave a respectful nod of acknowledgement.

While this exchange passed, the instructors and Motoko joined them to observe upon the duel, taking position along the perimeter of the room..

"Is this outcome to your satisfaction, Tsuruko-nee?" Shirou asked as the white cloth fell to the ground.

"You have certainly surpassed my expectations," she replied evenly. "I was fully prepared to challenge you myself on similar terms but you managed to achieve the same result without having to do a single thing on my part, but I cannot say I'm satisfied yet."

"I see," he smiled. "I suppose that I have to rectify that."

A slow hiss of steel announced Shisui's release from its sheath. Motoko's gaze followed the familiar length of the blade all the way to the hands that held it and then further up to meet the eyes of the man who wielded it.

**_TH-THUMP!_**

_Ah_, Tsuruko shivered, that look in the eyes of her opponents never failed to make her heart beat faster. Unwavering resolve, steel-like determination, the eyes of a man or a woman set on their goal without seeing anything else; the contemplation of defeat not even remotely hinted in them.

It just made her blood _boil _beneath her composed façade.

Smiling softly she unsheathed her own sword, one of the many nameless weapons she owned and assumed the standard guard of the Shinmei-ryu with the blade held almost vertically in front of her with both hands. It was a very common stance, all things considered, as Shirou himself had adopted the very similar one.

She blinked. His stance wasn't merely similar. The small nuances of his center of balance and the slightly lower inclination of the blade compared to a normal stance that only an experienced sword user could detect at a glance were the same as hers.

It didn't just look like the guard from the Shinmei-ryu. _It was _the guard from the Shinmei-ryu.

She narrowed her eyes. Was he skilled enough to have learned the basics of their style just by fighting against Motoko once? That did him credit but what was he trying to accomplish? Certainly.., certainly he wasn't trying to say he would fight using only what little he had grasped in the past few weeks? Was he so confident with himself that he actually thought he could not only learn but teach it?

If she didn't know how overly-polite and unnecessarily humble he usually was, Tsuruko would have thought she was trying to insult her. Just what game was he trying to play?

None of the onlookers had missed this particular development either and more than a few eyebrows were raised in curiosity, among which that of Hisashi, the current clan head himself. Gosho, on the other hand, seemed to have taken it as another personal insult if his increased seething was any indication. That man was far too quick in jumping to conclusions and even quicker to be offended.

Hisashi stepped up to the two challengers with the intention to act as a referee.

"Are you both ready?" he asked eyeing them in turn, but without making any comment about Emiya's choice of apparent fighting style. "Well, then: hajime!"

* * *

><p>Motoko had no power to stop the events unfolding in front of her. She didn't have the ability or the authority to put an end to the senseless battle that was about to take place.<p>

Why? Why did Emiya-san felt he had to step in to help her? Her decision was made and though it pained her to have been banished she didn't regret her choice, only the mistakes that led her to making it.

And yet, even understanding this, Emiya thought he had to fight for her risking injury and perhaps even death to grant her just a slim possibility to fulfill her lifelong wish of taking over the family technique. Why go to such lengths to help her? She hadn't done anything to deserve it. In fact her banishment was perhaps the most appropriate punishment for the shame she had brought on herself and her family.

Why did he feel the need to risk himself for her? He called himself selfish, but it made no sense. Nothing made sense at all.

And so she could only watch as the two opponents circled each other slowly examining one another in search for a weakness. Having found none, they slowly stepped toward each other, blades shifting in preparation of the coming clash.

It was Tsuruko who made the first move, so fast that Motoko would have missed it if she had blinked. Blow after blow Tsuruko pressed her offense against Emiya, the clashing of steel echoing loudly into the silent night.

No one uttered a word. No one dared to say anything, enraptured and shocked at the display. Not so much at Tsuruko, though, as her sister's ability was a known quantity to all of the presents. Tsuruko's ability was sublime, no doubt, her form was flawless, even a rookie could tell, but it was not_unparalleled_.

* * *

><p>Ten steps into the battle. Ten blows against his opponent.<p>

Her technique was flawless, her resolve unwavering, she was more rested than he was she had more years of experience on her back. By all means, she should have had all of the advantages. By logic, the upper hand should have been hers all along. And yet none of it mattered in the face of her opponent's ability.

None of her strikes was simply parried, not once she had pressed him into putting up an actual defense. All of her blows were forced to slide against the length of Shisui, as he twisted and turned his body to nullify the momentum and strength of her attacks in what was the core of the Shinmei-ryu style when it came to defend.

Such refined skill, such amazing proficiency. How could anyone have grasped the true essence of a style after being exposed to it sporadically and over the span of just a scant few weeks? Even being a hardened warrior with years actual sword-fighting experience could not explain such a feat.

How was he doing it? How had he mastered the basics of Shinmei-ryu?

Such questions should have been at the forefront of Tsuruko's mind. Confusion and curiosity should have been the predominating feeling for her in light of this confrontation.

But they weren't.

With each step taken her excitement increased. With every blow deflected her blood sang louder. With all of her attention focused in keeping up with her opponent she didn't even realized how fast her heart was beating.

* * *

><p>Sublime.<p>

There was no other way to describe Tsuruko in Shirou's mind as of that moment. The way she moved, the way her blade swung and the how her silky black hair whipped around, following her in her motions were an imagine of beauty that any painter would have died to put on a canvas.

It only served to make him feel little more disgusted with himself.

How many years had she spent in polishing her skill? How much effort had she put in improving to such levels? It was awe-inspiring just to think about it just as it was absolutely meaningless against him.

All it took was a single glance and the fruits of Tsuruko's efforts were already recorded flawlessly inside him. His to use and his to abuse at will.

Tsuruko couldn't win. No matter how strong she was, no matter how much she could still, so long as she wielded a bladed weapon he would not lose against her.

It was a simple concept, really. To be able to grasp and reproduce every detail of a technique after seeing it once, or even just by looking at the blade with such technique had been performed with, meant that he could predict and counter with absolute proficiency. The only way he could be defeated was if his opponent was so much faster and stronger that he couldn't keep up but against someone such as him, who had means to push himself past the human limits, no normal human could hope to compete.

He hadn't realized this in the course of the Holy Grail War because his opponents were so far beyond the scope of humanity that it was difficult to put into words. In the face of their borderline divine ability his talent paled as it barely allowed him to match them for brief moments and only by almost destroying his body in the process.

In this situation however his greatest restriction was yet again winning without causing any serious harm, both to Tsuruko's body and pride. Admittedly the latter was probably going to be more difficult than the former.

He was snapped out of his sulking and self-recrimination when Tsuruko all but disappeared from his line of sight. It was only because of his grasp of the Shinmei-ryu that his body reacted faster than his mind ever could, and more importantly faster than the blade coming to behead him from the side.

With a loud clang both blades met and for the first time since the beginning of the duel, the two fighters stopped moving, pushing with all of their strength in an attempt to overcome the other.

"How did you?" Tsuruko asked mere inches from his face, excitement and eagerness showing on her visage. "How have you managed to learn the Shinmei-ryu? It's not possible that you have grasped it only by watching Motoko in the past few weeks. Who taught you?"

"In this world, no one understands swords as I do, Tsuruko-nee. My teacher is right here."

* * *

><p>Perhaps, Tsuruko considered, Shirou was a prodigy with blades as much as he was with bow and arrows, but to hearing his confidence in his voice about his grasp of the her technique was insulting to say the least.<p>

"Your aptitude is praiseworthy, Shirou, but there's more to the Shinmei-ryu than just a polished form. Here, let me give you a demonstration."

She jumped backward, putting some meters of distance between them, moving her blade to the side in preparation of the next blow.

"Shinmei-ryu," she announced, "Zanganken!"

The sword swung and its arc was continued by a blade of ki that roared its fury as it sailed toward its target. It was much different from Motoko's performance of the same technique. As Shirou himself had pointed out, Motoko's technique was tainted by her fears, a flaw that Tsuruko didn't have.

The blade of ki that she sent toward Shirou was much sharper, much wider and definitely faster than what her younger sister was able to produce. Of course she didn't expect that the redhead would be caught by it. Superior as it was, it was still a technique he had seen performed at least once if not more. It would make short work of an unskilled and unprepared fighter, no doubt, but against someone with polished skills and average experience it would serve only as a distraction at best.

Just as thought, Shirou stepped out of the path of the attack, letting it sail past him and forcing the onlooker to jump out of its course as well. The technique slammed against the wall of the Dojo, shattering it to piece and continuing into the woods outside.

"More propriety damage," Shirou grimaced looking at the hole in the wall.

"Oh don't worry about that," she smiled. "It's not an uncommon occurrence around here. This building is structured not to break down easily."

"Are you saying that I shouldn't hold back?"

"Do your worst," she confirmed with a smile,

"Oh, well then, if you say so," he nodded and then raised the sword vertically above his head. Tsuruko stiffened. That stance…

"Shinmei-ryu," Shirou declared this time, "Zanganken Ni-no-tachi!"

The resulting wave of ki that flew toward Tsuruko was incomparable to the one she used just moments before. The second step of the Zanganken was a much more technique than the first. It wasn't just a matter of power, or speed or even just spirit. It was a matter of synchronizing two consecutive ki releases with different oscillations unleashed in a single swing of the blade.

It wasn't something that could be learned just by looking at it nor mastered without practice, yet there was no denying that the furious blade of compressed spirit coming at her was nothing short of perfect.

"Zanganken Ni-no-tachi!" she mirrored, sending her own attack to crash against Shirou's, nullifying both. As soon as both technique were dispelled her eyes searched angrily for her sister, much like any other present barring Shirou had done.

"Motoko!" Gosho bellowed. "How dare you teach our secrets to an outsider? Have you no shame at all?"

"I- It wasn't me," she stuttered, looking as shocked as everyone else. "I never taught him anything."

"Didn't I just tell you," all eyes returned to the speaker and source of the current widespread shock, "that I understand blades better than anyone else it this world?"

As he spoke he held Shisui to the side, parallel to the ground. As if in agreement with his words, the blade hummed like a diapason giving the onlookers even more reasons to be shocked.

"The Resonance of Steel?" Tsuruko asked dumfounded. "You don't mean to tell me that you can…"

"My teacher is right here with me," he confirmed gripping Shisui tighter. "This time I'm going to be on the offensive, Tsuruko-nee. Ready or not… HERE I COME!"

Tsuruko didn't have time to ponder the sheer absurdity of her recent realization. All of her attention was focused in holding back the barrage of blows that Shirou rained upon her after closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

She was keeping up with him, she realized, because he was using the style she was intimately familiar with. The speed and the viciousness of his blows would have crippled immediately if she didn't know where they were coming from.

However, even if their skill and speed were alike, Shirou had naturally a much greater body mass. Being a woman, against an opponent of equal ability was a disadvantage and yet…

… yet she wasn't afraid of losing at all.

Her body twisted, burned and ached. Keeping up with the onslaught was no small feat and it tool all of her experience not to be completely overwhelmed. Even then she was slowly but surely losing ground. Has she been less hard pressed she would have noticed the change. Had she not been so utterly inferior she would have just acknowledged her loss and be done with it.

But she didn't.

Unable to think anything at all but reacting all she could do was abandon herself to her instinct, not even noticing how deep she was falling until it was too late to pull back. The only thing that passed through her mind was her wish to fight. To fight! TO FIGHT!"

**_TH-THUMP!_**

* * *

><p>It was in rare moments such as this that Shirou realized that as marvelous as Noble Phantasms were, they had a severe limitation that normal but uncommon blades didn't have.<p>

Being the crystallized Mysteries that they were, Noble Phantasms contained a set of skill that bordered on the divine. By virtue of his talent, Shirou was able to replicate those as well, by putting a strain on his body that would kill most. This wasn't their greater limitations, however, as far as Shirou was concerned.

The problem with Noble Phantasms was that they had a single user, perhaps two, in the course of their history and they hardly used it in the same way. Upon recording their techniques, it was obvious that Shirou couldn't replicate them perfectly. Talented as he was, he was only human.

Blades like Shisui didn't have such limitations. Besides having only human skills recorded within it, which put less of a strain on Shirou's body, it had been used for centuries by several different individuals who mastered the same techniques over and over again. With dozens of different outlooks for every individual secret now recorded within himself, both from Shisui and from every other blade he had set his eyes upon that night, Shirou had now a grasp of their techniques superior to any other user of the same style, both alive and death.

Truthfully, he felt a bit guilty about it, though he had no qualms in making use of it to help someone else.

With that knowledge he was sure of his victory. Against a single human, no matter how skilled, he wouldn't lose any straight up battle with blades. Truthfully, a barehanded fighter with experience against armed opponent would give him a much harder time.

He was pondering that with a tiny portion of his mind when his conviction started to crumble.

He had a spit second of forewarning. In an instant the repulsive atmosphere that surrounded the Aoyama compound, to which he had barely got used to, spiked as if he was suddenly right in front of its source.

He didn't notice how it happened, but one moment he was pushing back Tsuruko and a fraction of second later he had to jerk his head away from the path of the blade that would have gorged his left eye out.

Out of precaution he took several steps back, but Tsuruko didn't follow. She stood her ground, sword at the ready. Her eyes were hidden by her hairs.

Which were slowly…. turning red.

"Kurenai Sekishu," the swordswoman whispered. "To think, that you would be able to push me this far, Shirou."

"Tsuruko, that's enough!" one of the elders intervened. "Stop it, right now! If you continue-"

"I'm sorry father," she cut him off. Her hands trembled but her grip around the sword didn't slacken. "I'm not sure I can hold back now. My blood won't stop boiling," she looked up at Shirou, locking with his her eyes with blackened sclera and golden irises, "until my enemy is **dead**!"

"Well, crap," Shirou managed to say a moment before Tsuruko almost flew at him, smashing her sword against Shisui so fast the her moment carried them both through the already semi-destroyed wall and out into the clearing.

The Magus had yet to touché the ground again that Tsuruko disappeared from his sight once more with blinding speed.

_'Crimson Red Vermilion,'_he realized while airborne. _'So that's how it is.'_

Further contemplations about the implications had to be postponed, as he had to deflect three more strikes that sent him flying even further until he was managed to touch the ground with his feet and skid to an halt with his back against the wall of another building. He had no time to regain his balance and move out of the way that Tsuruko was yet again on him, clashing her sword against his and forcing him to hold his ground.

* * *

><p>She was losing herself to the pleasure. Tsuruko knew this very well; however she couldn't bring herself to care. That was the problem with giving in to her ancestry. It was not unlike a drug, addictive to the point that just one taste made it was difficult to give it up. She more disciplined than most of her family members and differently from the majority of them she could go back from this condition on her own, though it was more and more difficult every time she triggered it, but not before what caused her to fall into this state had been reduced to a pulp.<p>

Normally she wouldn't do it except in a life or death situation, but she hadn't expected to be so utterly overwhelmed by her opponent and her own excitement. Perhaps she was already close to the point of no return and Shirou's unexpected skills pushed her over the edge before she could reign herself in.

And now, her blood boiled; a sensation similar to be on the verge of a nerve wracking orgasm. There was just no going back from it, no way to interrupt the process until the climax was reached and her opponent's blood painted her body entirely. In normal condition this bestial ruthlessness would horrify her, but the gift of her ancestry came with the curse of ripping her humanity away from her and filling her soul with unbidden bloodlust. Her conscious mind was aware of the wrongness of it all but this thought failed to connect with any feeling beside the need to kill.

She would regret it later on, when her enemy was dead at her feet and she returned to her normal condition, if she returned to her normal condition. However right now she couldn't bring herself to care. In this state she found it even amusing that she was about to fall prey to the same fate that befell her father and her mother, and she was looking forward to cut apart the rest of her clan once done with Shirou.

"To think that you would be able to keep up with me even like this," she whispered into his ear while she pushed his body against the wall with the help of her demonic strength. "What exactly are you, Emiya Shirou?"

"…"

"Ah?"

"I am….**_the bone of my sword."_**

* * *

><p>The situation was not good at all. Suddenly all thoughts of having used unnecessary force to deal with Motoko's situation were wiped out of his mind, his small sense of guilt over stealing the Aoyama's techniques was quick forgotten and the person he had to save had changed as well.<p>

Before his eyes Tsuruko was changing. Her long raven hair was turning almost completely red and her smile was stretching in wide feral opening that went from ear to ear. There was a little doubt in Shirou's mind about the reason for such a change.

She was a hybrid, a human with demonic or divine blood, and considering the nefarious appearance of her change there no mistaking that it was the former in this case.

Inwardly he winced. Tsuruko seemed to have a small measure of control over her blood, enough to retain part of her conscience but she was rapidly slipping, and it was all because of him.

Damn it. How many times would his attempts to save someone cause more unrest than give any actual help? And more importantly, how was he going to prevent Tsuruko's from losing herself completely?

He wasn't an Equalize and none of the weapons at his disposal had any exorcising ability but….

Of course, the Aoyama were clan of demon-hunting swordsman who had mixed themselves with their enemy in order to gain an edge over them. By all reasons they had to have a method to subdue and control those who had lost themselves to their blood, a technique with the purpose of sealing the evil within a person without causing harm. There was one recorded within Shisui that he could use, however it was easier to be said than done.

For all intents and purposes he was already at his limit, as far as his skills were concerned. Tsuruko in her Crimson Red Vermilion state far surpassed what he could achieve on his own with the use of Reinforcement. His next plateau of abilities involved Tracing one or more Noble Phantasms but that would not only reveal his Magecraft, which was a relatively minor issue at the moment, but also inflict more damage than Tsuruko could handle in spite of her enhancements.

It was in such moments that he realized how distant he still was from his goals and it nauseated him to no end that once again he had to seek help in the person he disliked the most.

"I am….**_the bone of my sword."_**

The old mantra echoed in his ears. Deep inside his soul the gargantuan gears of Unlimited Blade Works started turning. The second verse of the chant _'Iron is my blood and glass is my Heart' _was almost on his lips, but he stopped it forcefully. Going down that road wouldn't help Tsuruko right now. He had to shift to a different _'Gear '_almost identical to his own but at the same time fundamentally different.

Pain surged from his left arm, as if thousands swords were digging their ways through his torso. Pulling at a power that was not yet entirely under his control, he stifled a groan. No, pulling wasn't the right word right now. What he did was taking down a mental defense so ingrained that it had become subconscious and let the resulting breakdown run its course.

It was a dangerous line to thread on, but there was no other way to do this.

**"Steel is my body and fire is my blood!"**

* * *

><p>There is a mechanism instilled in every sentient mortal being; an alarm made to go off when faced with a predator several step higher on the food chain. It's a warning to flee, to run with all of one's might without looking back hoping to be just a little faster than the beast giving chase.<p>

For centuries, when confronted with impossible odds, it was the Aoyama who caused this feeling upon their enemies by accessing their cursed heritage. Now, for the second time in their history and for the first in a living man's memory it was an Aoyama who was on the receiving end of that feeling, hearing that alarm blaring inside her head.

She felt the change before she saw it.

Pressure could be one way to definite it. Sentence of death would be another.

In spite of her bloodlust, regardless of her demonic-driven condition, Aoyama Tsuruko couldn't suppress the shiver of fear that climbed up her spine as Emiya Shirou's skin darkened and his hair turned completely white.

The feeling of impending doom increased tenfold when her gaze locked with once warm, golden eyes now turned cold and steely grey.

"Steel is my body and fire is my blood!"

* * *

><p><span>London<span>

It was an ordinary day for Tohsaka Rin. As ordinary as it could be for a Magus under the tutelage of one of the last living Sorcerers could be anyway.

As she moved through the grandiose corridors of the underground structure of the Clock Tower, alight as if it was a sunny day on the surface, her fellow Magi gave her a wide berth. Her name and talent was very well known in the community as was her legendary temper. No one wanted to interact with her unless strictly needed, much like they did with her mentor.

Therefore no one went to her help when she stumbled by herself, dropping her books and falling to her knees as if she was in great pain.

Clenching her teeth she looked at the back of her right hand. There, etched upon the skin, though barely visible, was a familiar marking in a circular shape.

"That idiot," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Does he really want to die young? I'm so going to smack him over the head, that moron."

She stood back up unsteadily, picked her book and left without even acknowledging at the whispering witnesses. She had flight to Japan to book.

* * *

><p>Pain, he was used to it.<p>

For years his erroneous practice of Magecraft made him stick the equivalent of a scalding iron rod down his spine. His tolerance for pain was ungodly, to say the least, but even then being eaten from the inside out from a power that was his and at the same time didn't belong to him at all could not be compared to anything in this world.

The tireless working of Avalon wouldn't allow him to die but it did nothing to soothe the soul shattering pain he was subjected to.

A lesser man's brain would have turned into mush, but Emiya Shirou had long since learned how to live with it. It didn't make it any easier to bear, but it wouldn't hinder him either.

He didn't have to shake Tsuruko off by himself. She disengaged immediately and backed off of several dozen meters. Her maniacal grin had turned into a frown and her forehead was marred by sweat.

"Shinmei-ryu," he announced stepping forward, "Raimeiken Ni-no-tachi"

Shisui swung and lightning bolts erupted from the blade, soaring upward and toward Tsuruko. The Raimeiken was a technique which was more show than actual substance as it's destructive power at the second step was much inferior to even that of the first level of the Zanganken, but in addition to its electric proprieties it was the most suited technique to subdue opponents without outright killing them.

"Raimeiken Ni-no-tachi," Tsuruko returned, countering his attack with her own. The twin lightening met and crashed against each other, intertwining and then rising toward the sky, but it was far from over.

* * *

><p>Tsuruko had little time to relax; Before the two techniques had exhausted each other, another lightning bolt burst from the thunderstorm generated by the other two. Her efforts to dodge at the last moment were almost entirely unsuccessful as the technique brushed against her side, numbing her arm.<p>

Whatever suspicions she had about Shirou learning the Shinmei-ryu from Motoko was quickly dispelled as the younger Aoyama didn't have access to that technique yet. Tsuruko didn't have much time to speculate further, as he suddenly appeared before her, crossing the several dozen meters between them in the blink of an eye.

The sloppy swing she managed to perform never got close to hit him. He ducked under the blow and kicked her stomach. The impact was similar to being run over by a speeding truck and she went flying backward, air forced out of her lungs, rolling on the ground several times before she could regain her balance and step back on her feet. She expected him to be on her again, but he hadn't given chase.

Instead, much to her and everyone surprise he sheathed Shisui. For a brief fleeting moment she thought he wanted to give up, perhaps in a foolish attempt to avoid harming her. Of course, such silly notion was soon destroyed when he leaned slightly forward without releasing his hold of Shisui's hilt.

What was he up to…?

Oh!

* * *

><p>Aoyama Hisashi, as one born with inhuman blood, was a person who had a grasp of the world the existed beneath that in which normal people lived. Demons, ghosts and sprits while no longer common still existed and such knowledge gave him the arrogant, in hindsight, thought that he knew the truth depths of the supernatural realms.<p>

Such notion was shattered to pieces in the span of a few short moments. Putting aside his inability to wrap his mind around Emiya's knowledge of the Shinmei-ryu it remained the fact that he was keeping up with a Tsuruko who was undergoing her Kurenai Sekishu.

Even worse, after being apparently cornered he had done something to himself that was reminiscent of the Ancestry Return the Aoyama used, but its magnitude was far greater and its nature completely different. By all means the Urashima bloodline was very well known to them but even their _peculiar _traits didn't justify this transformation, or the power that rolled off him in waves.

Further puzzlement was added when in the middle of the battle Emiya sheathed Shisui again. He didn't he was about to give up now that he had the upper hand. What was he up to…?

"A… battōjutsu?" an equally stunned Gosho wondered aloud by Hisashi's side. "But there's no technique in our family that uses that-"

"No," Hisashi cut him off. "There was one, but it was lost with founder. It was lost…"

"You cannot mean…"

* * *

><p>Tsuruko dashed forward with all she had. She knew it was foolish to get close to…,whatever Shirou actually was, but she knew painfully even in her frenzied condition that she had no other opportunity than to take him down before he could perform that technique.<p>

A ranged attack would have served no purpose as he could dodge them easily from that distance. Her only hope was to close the gap and kill him before he had a chance to-

"Shinmei-ryu kessen ougi (God's Cry School Decisive Secret Technique):" Shirou announced, crushing Tsuruko's hopes for victory, **"Shin Zanmaken(True Evil-cutting Sword)!"**

Faster than a bullet, faster than any human being could hope to follow, Shisui snapped out from its sheath. With the acceleration granted by the ki accumulated within its scabbard it swung with blinding speed sending a wide blade hurling toward Tsuruko. It was too wide and too fast to dodge and she wouldn't dare to parry. In a split second reaction she swung her own sword without even announcing her technique, pouring all of her tainted ki in that desperate attack.

It was extremely difficult to put her exclusively demonic ki into an attack, but by doing so even a normal Zanganken was several times stronger than the Zanganken Shirou had performed, no matter how exceptionally powerful it was. She was sure that between the two hers would prevail and continue toward her opponent.

Such delusions were crushed mercilessly before she could even blink.

A second wave of ki from Shirou reached and slammed into the first before they met with Tsuruko's. With wide eyes she realized that he had used the sheath in fashion of a blade to send another attack in support of his first, melding them both in a single technique that was several magnitudes more powerful than the first one alone.

Now there was no doubt that Tsuruko's tainted ki release was only equal to that of Shirou's combined attack. Nevertheless, a battōjutsu had a longer recovery time she could capitalize on to deal a fatal blow. Like this she could still win.

_'WHAT?'_

She hadn't even formulated that thought entirely that another wave of ki came in support of the first two, much faster and much stronger than the earlier two combined. A return swing of the scabbard had released the pent up ki stored within the sheath, a three-fold release of purifying ki, each faster and stronger than the previous. When Tsuruko's attack finally met the combined might of Shirou's, it splashed against it harmlessly, like a shot from a water gun meeting a full blow landslide.

All Tsuruko could was watch with wide eyes as the mountain of energy drew closer until it finally slammed on her and everything disappeared in an ocean of white.

* * *

><p>A dream, there couldn't be any other explanation for what Motoko was seeing.<p>

First Emiya had used techniques from the Shinmei-ryu even her wasn't proficient with, all but claiming that he learned them from Shisui itself.

Then her sister had transformed in a way all too reminiscent of her father's, though she seemed far more in control of her actions that he ever was.

Then, when apparently cornered, Emiya had undergone a change of his own, proceeding to overwhelm a Tsuruko empowered by the bloodline cultivated to triumph over demons and spirits, and it wasn't all. Much to everyone shock Emiya had performed flawlessly an exorcising technique that was mentioned only in the tales passed down within the family.

It stood to no surprise how Motoko, much like everyone else, had fallen to her knees in stunned disbelief. What she had witnessed with her own two eyes went far beyond what she thought possible for a human, any human to accomplish.

Dumbfounded she watched as the Shin Zanmaken made short work her sister's power, overwhelming her with its purifying properties and making her fall on her knees, completely unhurt but forcefully returned to her normal condition.

Emiya closed the distance walking at a leisure pace, him as well reverting to his usual skin and hair tone. Tsuruko almost didn't pay him any attention, too busy to stare at her own hands in silent shock. Slowly, Emiya placed Shisui's blade against Tsuruko's neck. Only then did the swordswoman look up at him.

"This is my victory," he declared in a whisper that sounded like a shotgun in the engulfing silence that fell upon the compound.

"Hai," Tsuruko confirmed with an awestruck voice.

Emiya didn't say anything else but spun, sheathing his sword as he did so. With long but slow strides he walked up to Motoko, passing both Gosho and Hisashi without regarding them with a single glance, stepping past the missing wall and into the dojo until he was towering upon her sitting form.

"Can you stand?" he asked. Motoko could only shake her head in response.

"I see," he sighed.

"What…" Hisashi spoke, seemingly having found his voice again and turning to address the redhead swordsman, "What are you?"

"Unlike you I'm a full-fledged human being," he replied, sounding somewhere between tired and amused. "Though, I suppose that doesn't always apply to me."

"Uh," was Hisashi eloquent reply, the man didn't know how to deal with Emiya's strange sense of humor.

"Then as agreed" Emiya turned to stare at Motoko once more. He reached out with his hand, grabbing the still shell-shocked girl by the scruff of her hakama as if she were a small kitten, at which she gave a small, started squeal, and plopped her unceremoniously on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes "this woman is mine."

Without waiting for any acknowledgment behind the dumbstruck elders and the rest of the instructors in his wake before anyone could gather their wits and mount any protest or demand any form of explanation.

* * *

><p>Tsuruko sat on the ground, her brain unable to grasp entirely the series of events that had taken place that night.<p>

In truth the outcome had been more or less what she envisioned when she decided to bait Shirou into_'rescuing'_Motoko but she hadn't foreseen just how he'd get to do it.

The feeling of shame for losing control of her blood was the most preponderant emotion but she wasn't a stranger to curiosity and a strange sense of admiration. Without even knowing it, Shirou had changed something within the Aoyama.

Over three hundred years after the fire that consumed Kyoto, a man from the same clan who had driven the Aoyama to near extinction had once again shattered their convictions on their beliefs and strengths and he had done so by using nothing but the Aoyama's own techniques, taking one of their most promising students under his wing.

It would be a long time, she knew, before the elders could make head or tails of it all, but there was no doubt in Tsuruko's mind that this night had been only the opening salvo of something much bigger and much more important, for both the Aoyama and the Urashima.

Where this would ultimately lead, she couldn't begin to fathom and while a part of her was terrified by the darkness contained in the Pandora's box that had just started to inch open, another part of her could only look forward to the small spark of hope that was said to lay at the bottom of it.

Would it be enough, she wondered, to save not only Motoko but the rest of the Aoyama as well?

* * *

><p>"E-Emiya-san," Motoko squeaked as the redhead made its way through the woods. "Emiya-san, please, let me go."<p>

Shirou stopped and let Motoko gently down on the ground. The girl stood on her own two feet, shaking a bit.

"Sorry," he chuckled, "I didn't want to man-handle you like that, but I had to leave before they started asking me some uncomfortable questions."

"I get that but… Emiya-san, please answer me, who are you really? How have you done all of that?"

"Everyone has their secrets, Motoko," he replied apologetically. "The only thing I can honestly tell you is the same thing I told your sister earlier: in this world there's no one who understand swords as I do."

"I understand," she sighed. "I have no right to question your abilities and your motivations after all the trouble I have already put you through, but please answer me this at the very least. Did you mean it, what you said back then? Do you really believe I can surpass my sister?"

"I think," Shirou licked his lips, "that your talent with the sword is far superior to Tsuruko's and she knows this as well. Of course all the talent in the world is useless unless properly honed. Right now Tsuruko is way out of your league and don't even think that she's just going to stand still and wait for you to catch up with her. Three years from now she going to be much stronger. Even with the same time at your disposal you'll be hard pressed to surpass her."

"Then… will you teach me?" she asked demurely. "Will you really teach me how to become stronger than my sister?"

"That's what I said I'll do," Shirou smiled. "I warn you, though: it's going to be an infernal training. Are you sure about it?"

"I have decided to walk the path of the swords, Emiya-san. I will not waste the opportunity you have given me today," she bowed as deeply as she could. "Please, grant me the honor of teaching me, Emiya-sensei!"

"If that's what you want then it will be my honor to teach you," he bowed just as deeply.

Their moment was interrupted by the sound of the voices coming from the dojo. "Looks like the surprise effect it's over. Can you run on your own?" he asked.

Motoko looked at her legs that were still shaking a little. "I'll try but-" she was interrupted when she had to catch Shisui in mid-air.

"That's yours," he told her flatly. "It wanted to get back to you for a while now."

"I missed you, Shisui," she whispered to the sword cradled in her bosom as if she was talking to a child.

"Hold on tight, we're going to run."

"Eh? But I can't- Kya!"

He slid an arm behind her shoulder and the other under her legs, lifting her effortlessly, breaking into a run once more.

Motoko could only hold herself for dear life ignoring the intense heat steaming from her face as she was held against Emiya's broad chest.

* * *

><p>"It… it stopped," Kitsune noticed.<p>

"What stopped?" Naru asked turning back to look at her friend. She had just managed to convince them to keep looking for Motoko in spite of the strange situation.

"The noises," Shinobu said in a whisper, sounding almost afraid to be heard by something hiding it the now silent night. "It's all quiet now."

Naru looked up to the flight of stairs opening up before them. They were right. The distant clashing of steel and the sounds of explosions had suddenly interrupted. No matter how much she strained her hearing she didn't hear anything.

"That's a good sign, isn't it?" Kitsune asked. "I mean, they must have stopped fighting right?"

"I guess," Naru agreed. "Do you think that… hey, do you hear that?"

"What? What is it?"

Silently they stood and listened. For a moment they heard nothing but soon a sound reached their ears. It was distant at first, but it was drawing progressively close. It sounded like someone walking down the flight of stairs, or rather jumping down several steps at once.

In silent agreement they all huddled together, backing away from the ominous darkness of the forest. The sound kept getting closer and closer just as they backed further away until a figure all but leaped at them from the woods landing in a crouch.

"KYAAAAAHHHH," Naru, Shinobu, Kitsune, and Motoko all shouted at the top of their lungs. Wait, Motoko?

"Motoko? Motoko!"

"Naru-senpai? What are you all doing here?"

"Oh no," Kitsune cut in, pointing at the raven haired girl being held bridal style by their kanrinin, "Shirou, you really did kidnap her."

"I didn't do anything of the sort. She's coming with her family's permission," he protested vehemently and then narrowed his eyes at them. "Besides, you have followed me, again."

"Well, what did you expect us to do?" Naru interjected. "You just disappeared in the middle of the night during a crisis, then we found out you broke in here. Of course we had to follow you. A-anyway, why are you holding Motoko like that? Get your filthy hands off her, you pervert."

"Oh god… Oh god, oh god, oh god…" Kitsune babbled caught between shocked and amused. "You two are engaged!"

"What!" The other girls shouted while Shirou deadpanned.

"Of course," she explained, "Her sister said that Motoko was going to get married but then Shirou came and beat them all up. He must have proven his strength or something and they decided to have him marry her. Look at them. Don't they look just like newlyweds?"

"EEEEMIIIIYAAAA," Naru growled, stepping threateningly toward them.

"Auuuuuh," Shinobu moaned with tears filled eyes. "Emiya-san and Motoko-senpai are…"

"Oh, this is just like something out of a novel. The dashing hero saving the damsel from the castle where she's kept captive and-"

"It's not like that!" Shirou and Motoko protested at once, red-faced.

"The arranged marriage has been called off," Motoko continued. "Everything is solved for the time being."

"Seriously, why do you always come up with the most ludicrous explanations for everything?" Shirou sighed. "Never mind, let's just get go back to the inn before they decide to rethink the whole thing."

"So there's no marriage then?" Kitsune cocked her head. "That's just so boring."

"Well, I'm sorry for spoiling your entertainment. Now, are you all just going to stand around here or you coming back with us?" Without waiting for an answer he ran past them in a slow jog, continuing to hold Motoko's light frame in his arms. "If you're coming I suggest you start moving. Permission or not, I have stepped on more than a few toes tonight. I'm not sure how they'd react to a group of intruders."

He shouted it at them and he didn't have to look back to know they started running after him as fast as their legs could carry them.

He soon passed the gates, where the guards still laid unconscious and from that into the quiet streets of Kyoto at night. The fresh breeze of the summer air void of the nefarious aura of the Aoyama compound was a invigorating experience for the dead tired redhead.

"E-Emiya-san, I think I can walk by myself just fine now." Motoko told him embarrassedly.

"It's okay," he told her, not loud enough for the girls a few steps back to hear. "Starting tomorrow you'll walk the path of the sword again and I won't give you any quarter. So, just for tonight, be simply a woman and let yourself be held."

"yes." Motoko replied without saying anything else, for whatever escaped her mouth would come out as nothing but a squeak. So she did exactly what her new teacher told her, and allowed him to carry her wherever he was going.

Leaning her head against his torso she thought, for the first time in her life, that it honestly wasn't so bad to be born a woman.

She fell asleep in his arms without even noticing. In her slumber she dreamed of an odd place: a vast expanse filled with nothing but blades in every direction she turned to look. Though it was strange and unfamiliar she didn't feel like she was alone. She had the strangest feeling that if she had to remain there forever, under the eternally setting sun, she wouldn't really mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Location: ?<strong>

_Deep in the darkness, far, far beneath the surface of the world, __**it**__ stirred awake. The proximity of a familiar presence caught its attention and woke it from its slumber for a mere moment._

**_It _**_couldn't reach to the presence, chained as __**it**__ was, but there was no doubt in its mind that it hadn't been just a mere fluke._

_For centuries __**it**__ had waited and now the time was finally coming. __**It**__ would be freed again and the world would be bathed in fire once more._

* * *

><p>Rusty Heart: End<p>

* * *

><p>AN: I don't know how you readers feel about this chapter but in my eyes it's totally crap. The narration feels chunky and the dialogues forced. I wrote and rewrote it times and times again but I didn't manage to achieve the result I had envisioned.<p>

I took many liberties with the whole "Archer's Arm" thing but I don't think I broke any law of the Nasuverse. Even the change in Shirou's appearance is in line with canon since spiritual interferences do affect one's appearance.

One thing I wanted to stress out is the concept that having a shit-load of Noble Phantasms at his beck and call doesn't make automatically everything easy. In FSN there was no chance but to go all out to survive, but most situation can't be solved with a sword to the face. Being a hero is more than taking the bad guys out and that's where Shirou is going to find himself hard-pressed in making things better without making them worse.

That being said, this is going to be the last chapter for a while. I want to focus on Path of the King, which is my main project.

See ya.


	15. Rusty Heart (Finale)

**Rusty Heart (Finale)**  
>Published: 01.21.2014 – Beta: Obiki Doragon<p>

* * *

><p>The sun peeked out from the hills that surrounded Kyoto, bathing the city with its warmth.<p>

Motoko stirred awake and sat up in her futon. Naru, a few feet at her left, was sleeping still sleeping soundly in her own covers. Kitsune on the other hand was sprawled ungraciously with all limbs sticking out. Kaolla had somehow rolled with Shinobu and was hugging the barely older girl with all the strength her limbs could muster, which caused Shinobu to squirm and moan in discomfort in her sleep with a purple tinge to her features.

They all had to be dead tired from the previous night, the kendoka mused. She, on the other hand, was feeling alive and energetic like she probably hadn't since her childhood. Is that what it felt like, looking at the world with renewed eyes?

She slipped out of her futon and changed in her usual hakama. Silently as possible she left the room she shared with the four other girls and went for the garden. There weren't many people awake yet and she thoroughly enjoyed the peace of the early hours.

She shouldn't have been surprised, however, that he would be already awake. Emiya Shirou was sitting on the patio, overlooking the gardens, with a cup of tea in his hands. There was a contemplative look about him that made him look older than he actually was. The patch of white hair didn't help either.

She recalled the previous night, how he dealt with her sister, the way his appearance changed and the power that accompanied it. What was his history? As an Urashima, his blood couldn't be anything but purely human, so it wasn't a matter of supernatural ancestry. Was it something he had picked up on his travels? Was it a skill that could be learned? It was something she couldn't begin to fathom.

"Good morning, Aoyama-san," the redhead greeted without turning, startling her out of her musing. She should have known better than to try and sneak up on him, even involuntarily. "Up already?"

"Yes, I was never one to sleep much," she replied, voice smooth. "Besides, I admit that I'm looking forward to the training. My current mood isn't exactly conductive to sleep."

"It won't do much good to get too worked up so early in the morning," he patted the floor beside him. "Have a seat."

"Yes, Emiya-sensei," she replied as she took a place at his side. Emiya seemed about to protest her use of that title for him, but then settled and sipped at his tea. He probably knew by then that she was nothing if not formal.

"Tea?" he offered moving the tray with another cup and the teapot over to her side.

She politely accepted and mimicked him as he enjoyed the quiet and the warm drink.

"You are a mysterious person, sensei," she finally said.

"Hmm?" he asked as he sipped at his tea.

"I mean, I don't really know much about you. Your existence is shrouded in mystery and the more I find out about you, the more questions I'm left with."

He put down his cup, still staring in the distance. "Fifteen years ago, there was a huge fire in Fuyuki. Over five hundred people died in it."

"I… remember you telling this before, the day you came at the inn. That is when you were orphaned and lost your memory, right?"

"Correct. I don't remember anything before that point. You could very well say that the person I am today was born in those flames. It was a sight that should belong only in nightmares. People were dying left and right, consumed by fire."

"It must have been horrible," she supplied, not understanding where this topic was going, but hanging to every word nonetheless.

"I was utterly powerless to help anyone. Hell, I wasn't even able to save myself. It was my foster father who stumbled upon my dying body and carried me to safety. Actually, that's my most vivid memory, seeing my father crying tears of joy for being able to save even just one life struck me. I clearly remember thinking that if I helped people like he did, maybe I would have been able to find the same happiness."

"Go on, please."

"To make a long story short, I decided that since I survived when almost everyone else died, I should have lived my life to help other people. I know, I know, it's a twisted reasoning, you won't hear me denying it, but it worked for me. Then… things happened, both good and bad, and I realized that it wasn't enough to cut it, that I was still weak. Too weak at that, so I sought to become stronger to help as many people as I could and… well, I'm here today."

Motoko was silent as she processed the story. "I understand," she finally concluded, "your reason for being so strong is because you fight for something beyond yourself."

"I guess you could say that," he agreed. "Does that answer your questions?"

"Not all of them, no," she smiled, "but it's a start; thank you, sensei."

"You're welcome," he nodded, putting down his cup. "Now I believe it's better if we wake up our companions and get a move. The day isn't getting any longer."

"Of course, Sensei," she agreed standing up and following him.

* * *

><p>He had packed lightly so it didn't take him much to put everything into his backpack. The girls, on the other hand… well, they were girls. If there was thing he had learned, it was that they wouldn't just roll out of bed and start the day without working on their appearance. It didn't bother him, but he couldn't understand how they coped with the daily hassle.<p>

… That he didn't appreciate the results of the efforts of said hassle would be a lie.

Still, he was long done packing and he was waiting for the other so to be done when the receptionist called him.

"Excuse me, Emiya-san? There is a visitor for you at the entrance."

"A visitor?" he asked, mostly to himself as she stood up. "Who could… oh," he nodded, "Good morning Aoyama-dono."

Aoyama Hisashi, Tsuruko's and Motoko's father; stood by the entrance, surrounded by four other men in traditional clothing that didn't seem all too happy to be in Shirou's presence. No wonder, since they were four of the people he had clobbered on his way to the meeting the previous night. The feeling was accentuated by their lack of weaponry, probably due to the elder Aoyama's orders. They were a sturdy bunch, though, to be already up and walking after Shirou smacked the around.

"Emiya-dono," The man greeted, equally polite, "Would you mind walking with me? I believe we have a few matters to discuss."

"Of course," he nodded. "Just give me a moment."

He told the receptionist to inform his companions that he was leaving for a little while and that he would be back soon, and then he followed Hisashi out of the inn and through the streets of Kyoto.

"You have caused quite the stir among my clan last night, Emiya-dono. We have been quite, ah, upset about the recent development. I daresay that Motoko's faults have mostly been forgotten in the wake of your passing."

"I apologize for the unneeded trouble," he replied.

"Unneeded?" he shook his head. "Not at all, There has been far too much complacency in our ranks in the past decades. Years of peace and isolation rusted our abilities and our common sense. It was a good wake up call, if an unorthodox one at that."

Shirou didn't know what to reply, so he kept silent.

"Tell me, Emiya-san, do you know the history that ties my clan to your family of birth?"

"I'm afraid not. I've been just recently acquainted with a few relatives and I didn't have the opportunity to familiarize with their backgrounds. Other… matters came up."

"Hm, I'm not surprised. Your grandmother is a very sly person. Don't mistake me; I say it as praise. It takes unparalleled wits to keep a solid control over the Urashima Conglomerate. Well, it's not my place to enlighten you on matters regarding your heritage, but I suggest you look into it as soon as you can."

"Aoyama-dono, is there a point to this conversation?"

"Ah, yes. Forgive the ramblings of an old man. Actually, I intended to talk to you about Motoko's situation. As you are aware, even if she retains to right to challenge Tsuruko for the title of heir due to your victory last night, she still was banished from the family. Being not of age yet, she needs a legal guardian."

One his man handed him over a stack of papers, which Hisashi passed over to Shirou.

"Here's the necessary paperwork for you to get guardianship over Motoko for the foreseeable future. She will be your ward from now on."

"You would hand over your daughter so easily, Aoyama-dono?" he asked with a tinge of annoyance and anger.

The older man glared at him, but then he sighed.

"I can understand why you would think that Emiya-dono, and while I don't know what Motoko might have told you about me, if she even ever mentioned me, I assure you that I have only the best in mind for my daughters."

"Is that why you're sending her away?" he asked. "Are you afraid that your influence will cause her to fall into her Inverted state?"

"You seem to be quite knowledgeable about our heritage for someone who didn't have any contact with the Urashima. Nevertheless, for your earlier display I suppose you know a thing or two about the things that lurks in the darkness of this world. Even then, you are mistaken. Motoko's blood is not nearly as thick as our own. Her mother was not… like us."

"I see," he replied evenly, mental gears spinning rapidly. "So this is about her mother?"

"No. It's just something I should have done long time ago, but I was too cowardly to do it until now. Emiya-dono, if you care about Motoko's happiness at all, you'll see that she lose that challenge three years from now," the man sighed wearily. "There's only sadness to be found in our midst."

Shirou scratched his head, looking to the side toward the horizon for a moment.

"Let me tell you a story, Aoyama-dono. A story about a woman I once knew," he began slowly. "She was strong and proud, but even though she was perhaps the strongest person I ever met she was also extremely sad. She had bet her life on a dream and that dream failed her, or rather, she failed that dream. In her last days she sought to undo everything she had done, to make things as if she never existed, never mattered."

"I understand that feeling, Emiya-dono. When the things we cherish turn to ashes in our hands, we wish we had never taken hold of them in the first place. This is why I'm begging you to reconsider-""

"No," he cut her off. "That's not it. Though she had a chance to forget things and be at peace, if only briefly, in the end she was confronted with her shortcomings and she faced them. Though she regretted failing what she had strove for, she accepted that she had done her utmost best and passed away with a smile."

"Emiy-"

"Shut up and listen," he snapped, uncharacteristically harsh, eyes flashing gray, "human beings have no direct power over sadness and happiness. They can't really know if the things they'll do are going to turn out for the best or not, nor they should. The only thing we can do, the only things that really matters in the end, is to do the thing you believe right until you believe them to be right. Even if the only thing that await us at the end of our path is"_ -being betrayed by your own ideals- "_nothing but failure and disappointment there's nothing worse than betraying your own self."

"… I have misjudged you, Emiya-dono," Hisashi stated quietly, eyeing the man who had stepped uncomfortably close. "Under that calm appearance of yours there is a burning passion that is rare to find nowadays. I suppose," he sighed, "that I can take this as a small measure of comfort. You are not the man to who will steer Motoko away from this path, as I hoped, but at least you are the person who will see that she doesn't walk down it unprepared. Very well, I acknowledge that there's nothing I can do or say to change your mind. Here," he said passing over the documents for Motoko's guardianship. "They have already been filed to the proper authorities. Motoko is in your care from now on."

Shirou took the papers and browed them over. It was all correct as far as he could tell with a cursory glance. Everything was- wait a minute.

"Aoyama-dono, what exactly does this-?"

"Sensei!"

Motoko's voice interrupted him and they all turned to look in her direction. She was running toward him with an alarmed look on her face, the other girls in tow a few meters behind. She almost recoiled when she saw Hisashi, but she frowned and approached at higher speed.

"Sensei," she breathed as she reached him. "Chichiue," she greeted her father with a glare. "What is going on here?"

"Nothing much, daughter, just ironing out the details of your permanence under Emiya's care is all. I believe everything is already said and done, though. I shall take my leave."

"Wait! Aoyama-dono, just a moment, this isn't right." Shirou said waving the stack of papers.

"I believe I know what you are referring to, Emiya-dono, but you are mistaken. As you said just now, a man has to do what he thinks right until the very end," he smiled a smile far too reminiscent of Kirei's at his finest. "Certainly you don't intend to turn on your words right after you spoke them."

"Ugh," he groaned, caught in a trap of his own making.

"Best of luck, Emiya-dono," he chuckled. "I'm sure you'll need it from now on."

With that, the elder Aoyama slipped into an alley with his bodyguards and disappeared from sight. A moment of silence went by, during which the rest of the girls caught up with them. It was Naru who spoke first.

"Emiya-san, what happened?"

"I think I just suffered the vengeance of the Aoyama clan."

"Sensei," Motoko cried out, "did he do something to harm you?"

"Harm me? I believe he just pulled a prank on me, or rather, on both of us."

"A prank?" she blinked, clearly unfamiliar with the concept of Aoyama Hisashi pulling pranks. "What do you mean?"

As an answer, Shirou handed her over the guardianship documents. Motoko took them carefully, as if anything from her father was to be handled like it would bite her. She read through them and slowly her eyes widened a faint tinge of red spreading across her cheeks.

"What?" Kitsune asked seeing Motoko's reactions. "What is it?"

"It appears like that my clan went through with the banishment, as I expected, but they didn't change my name to be the same as my mother's."

"Uh," Naru asked. "So you're still an Aoyama? Well, that's what you wanted to begin with, right?"

"That's not it," she shook her head without moving her eyes from the line that had caught her attention. "Not it at all."

Frustrated with the lack of a straightforward answer, Kitsune stole the papers from Motoko's hands and scanned them over. After a moment she burst out laughing.

"Oh my god, this is too precious," she said between pearls of laughter. The papers fell from her hands, scattering on the ground where everyone could see them. The name at the top of each sheet slapped them in the face.

Emiya Motoko

Shirou could only sigh while his tenants broke down into their own peculiar reactions to any shocking news that bore his name. Kitsune kept laughing, Shinobu's eyes filled with tears and Narusegawa seethed angrily.

He could never catch a break.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Later that day<span>**

The six travelers finally stood in front of the Hinata-sou, after a hectic trip back from Kyoto. It had taken hours to placate and explain that not, if fact, married just because Motoko's father had decided to have her name changed into Emiya, and no, it didn't count as an engagement either.

Kitsune constant teasing served only to reignite the fire of the discussion every time it was about to dwindle. Damn sly foxes.

Still, they had made it back home somehow and they all went to the dorm's living room.

"Motoko, are you really okay with this?" Narusegawa asked as they waded through the corridors of the dormitory. "I don't think these documents are valid until you submit your signed copies."

"Narusegawa-san is correct," her sensei interjected as he dropped their luggage in front of each room. Motoko was the only one who insisted to carry her own. "You don't really have to go through with this."

"Father is a stubborn man," Motoko replied. "This is likely his vengeance for having his clan humiliated in combat. I'm quite sure he wouldn't relent on these terms. Even then, I find much more unpleasant having to beg him for anything than to be called Emiya for the next three years. That is, if you don't mind it, Sensei."

The redhead shook his head, and they all moved to the living area to relax for a while. Shinobu and Kitsune, having their rooms situated on the first floor, were already there. Shinobu had taken the time to prepare a few drinks for everyone. Once they all sat and took a moment of respite, Shirou continued.

"To be honest, there's a lot of baggage associated with my name. The previous two bearers haven't led very fulfilling lives, and they have met abrupt and early ends. I'm not really set on a path of success and happiness myself either. However, it should be fine if it's only for a while."

Motoko nodded and remained silent. Truly this turn of events was most unexpected, but what wasn't in the past few weeks? Things had changed, she had changed and her name had changed. Moreover, it wasn't the end of it just yet. The course of her life had taken a sharp turn in an unknown direction, but it was fine.

Lately, her respect for this man sitting at the opposite side of the table had grown in measures she had before thought impossible. Under the name of Aoyama, she had done many things she regretted and brought her family great shame. To have the opportunity to grow stronger carrying the name of the man who had shown her how mistaken she used to be was oddly fitting. It made her feel truly his disciple, not only in swordsmanship but in life as well.

"It's alright," she confirmed. "After all, as you said, it's the name of the person who saved me. As your disciple, isn't it fitting that I too will have to carry this name until I fulfill my oaths?"

Sensei snorted. "I suppose it does. Careful though, we Emiya tend to be overachievers. If you don't pay attention you'll end up striving for impossible things."

"Spoken from experience, Sensei?"

"Quite," the redhead nodded, gaze set on some distant goal, invisible to them.

"You don't seem to be regretting it," Motoko noticed.

"Regret?" he blinked. "No, there are no regrets at all. This is the only path for me."

"As is mine, Still…," Motoko stopped with a pondering look on her face.

"What," he asked, leaning forward. The other tenants' interest was piqued up as well. "Is there a problem?"

The sword-maiden smiled with a strangely playful gleam in her eyes, putting down her glass, and for a brief moment she looked too much like her sister. Shirou couldn't help but shiver.

"You said that you'll make a swordswoman capable of beating my sister. If I fail I'll be bereft of a family and I'll be stuck with your name. If those events come to pass will you… take responsibility, Sensei?"

"Erk?!" Narusegawa chortled spewing her drink into her glass, while Shinobu's fell and crashed on the floor. Even Kitsune was gaping at the sheer boldness of Motoko's statement. To have reduced the resident seductress to silence, it was quite something.

Shirou choked, coughed and blushed furiously. By the time he and the others had regained his wits, Motoko had slipped away, not waiting for an answer. They all remained sitting in a shocked silence until Shirou himself broke the ice with a low chuckle that was a mix of amusement and genuine fear.

"Damn it, she's too much like her sister already. What the hell did I sign up for?"

It was all that was needed to break the spell cast upon them. Narusegawa jumped to her feet, running after the other girl.

"Motoko! Wait, Motoko! You couldn't possibly mean that, right? Motoko!"

Kitsune, on the other hand, patted Shirou on the shoulder in genuine sympathy. "You know Shirou-kun, I'm afraid this time you've bitten more than you could chew. I really wonder who will be training who."

"That makes two of us, Konno-san," the redhead sighed wearily, pinching his nose as if the gesture alone could quell the coming headache. "That makes two of us."

* * *

><p><strong><span>That night<span>**

Motoko smiled under the covers of her futon. She was back at the Hinata-sou, the place she thought she would never see again. It was the closest thing to a home she had in years, and yet it seemed so much different now. Before, it was a refuge, a shelter. Now it was the place where she would forge herself into the person she wanted to become.

The change was already taking place, and she was surprised of it herself. The teasing words directed toward Emiya-sensei, earlier that day, were not something she would have been able or willing to utter just a few weeks before. This strange serenity that pervaded her, was this person who she truly was?

Admittedly, she felt rather embarrassed after she spoke those words and she fled the scene as quickly as she could immediately afterwards, but she didn't regret them. Sensei's reaction, everyone's reaction had been priceless. She could see now why her sister loved to tease the people around her so much.

Was this what she had been missing? To have the ability to smile, and make other people smile? Well, no more of that. She was still immature, she knew that, but she now was complete, whole.

Of course there were still many questions to be answered, many things she didn't understand yet. One of such thing was that strange warmth that spread over her when Sensei was close by. It felt like eagerness, yes, to learn from him no doubt, but it wasn't just that. It was a troubling and distracting and strangely pleasurable sensation.

Eventually, she would find out.

* * *

><p>The day passed and night returned over the skies of Kyoto. Caressed by a slight breeze, the elder daughter of the Aoyama family climbed her way to the top of the hill.<p>

The clamor of the day and the previous night had dwindled, with the firm decision of her father to entrust Motoko in Shirou's care. Saying that Shirou's assault had caused a ruckus was the understatement of the century.

Far too many things had shattered in his wake. Beliefs, ideals and convictions were being re-examined under the light of his overwhelming victory. Only Hisashi, having showed a firm demeanor he hadn't exhibited in years, placated the other elders who wanted to do something in regards to the entire debacle, though what such a thing was remained a mystery. It was quite obvious at that point that they had no power over him, not even to demand an explanation.

Ultimately, their inability to conceive a course of action gave Hisashi's faction the upper hand in the final decision. Motoko had left undisturbed, temporarily cast out from the family.

Three years and an odd teacher was all she had to surpass her, Tsuruko mused. A long time, and yet not nearly enough needed. If things were as Hisashi thought, if Motoko truly had the potential then surpassing her older sister was only the first of her concerns.

Tsuruko was both anticipating and dreading the day. Both in victory and defeat, Motoko had only things to lose and very few, if none, to gain. All she could do was prepare, be at her strongest, for the moment Motoko came to challenge her. If truly her little sister could not be averted from her fate, Tsuruko would ensure that she was ready to face anything that lay in wait past their confrontation.

"Thoughts?" a man's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Father," Tsuruko acknowledged not showing her surprise as the man emerged from the darkness of the forest around the clearing. "I didn't know you were here. I thought you didn't visit the shrine anymore."

"… I long stopped praying for myself to gods that don't bother answering," the man confirmed, "but I can at least hope they will show compassion to my daughters. The sin of the father should not fall upon the children."

"Father, I never thought you responsible for mother's fate."

"But I am," the man replied sadly. "It was I who killed her after all, just as I did with Motoko's mother. I could never blame her for hating me as she does."

"She's young and she doesn't understand the weight of our curse," Tsuruko objected.

"That doesn't change the fact that I killed her mother in front of her very eyes."

"It was her choice to die for you."

"But it was my hand that did it. There is no changing that truth, Tsuruko."

"You're a stubborn man," the raven-haired beauty sighed in frustration. "Motoko might not have inherited your blood, but she certainly has the same thick-head as you."

"Let us hope that it doesn't become her undoing all the same."

"I will not allow it, father" Tsuruko declared under the night sky. "If it comes down it, I will descend into Yomi myself."

Hisashi didn't reply. The foolishness of her statement was evident to the both of them. Still, she would not let her sister become yet another unwilling sacrifice, even if she had to throw away her humanity for it.

After all, it was the onee-chan's duty to watch over her younger sister, was it not?

* * *

><p>-XXX-<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Yeah, short update and nothing really exceptional. I just wanted to give a better closure to the arc so that I could make clean start with the next. For a couple of chapters I'm working on this story so the next update should be noticeably faster.<p>

Thank you all for your patience and support


	16. Ordinary life

**Ordinary Life  
><strong>(Published: 02/12/2014 - beta: Obiki Doragon, IIonezerozero )

* * *

><p>Shirou's head hit the table with a loud thud. Slowly he raised it and let it fall again on the wooden surface of his table in his room at the Hinata-sou. He repeated this ritual for several times before stopping and sighing in resignation.<p>

He looked at the papers scattered before him. Sheets scribbled hastily and even more hastily cast aside, crumpled and thrown in the overflowing trash can. He stood and rubbed his eyes wearily.

Gone, seven months of studies were completely gone, as it showed on the exercises he repeatedly tried to complete without results; Mathematics, Chemistry, History, English; all completely gone.

Seven months in exchange for three minutes. Even then he considered himself lucky that he had lost only superficial knowledge instead of more important memories.

He dared not think what it would have been of him if he used that power back then, when he first received it and was unable to control it. If he had, he feared, the things he would have lost would have been immeasurable.

Sakura, Rin, Rider, perhaps even Saber? That simple thought made him feel nauseous.

Then again, it showed that there was no such a thing as a convenient power, or a shortcut on the path to becoming strong. He could borrow for a time a power that didn't fully belong to him but he had to pay a price for it.

Even now, years from that confrontation, he was still being held at sword point.

"I guess it's only expected that you would stand in my way even now," he whispered to the empty room. Silently he cleaned up his room and when he was finished he sat back down at his table, pulled out his books and begun studying again.

He had seven months to catch up with.

* * *

><p>"Isn't Emiya coming down for lunch?" Naru asked as she sat at the dinner table with the others.<p>

"Ah, Emiya-san asked me to bring him something to eat afterward," Shinobu replied dutifully. "He said he was going to study until late."

"Huh, with all that happened lately I forgot that he was trying to get into Toudai too," she admitted between bites.

"Right," Kitsune nodded. "He doesn't really fit the image of a Ronin cracking his head on books all day long. You sure can't judge a book from its cover, uh?"

Naru winced. Though there was no malice behind Kitsune's word her casual statement there certainly applied to her. She had to admit, to herself at least, the she had given Emiya a lot of undue grief. Though his presence seemed to exacerbate some situations, the truth was that he never really caused any trouble himself. Actually it was their own hostile behavior that had bounced off of him and slammed back in their faces. To make things worse for her, Emiya hadn't just being content with letting them stew in their own problem, but he had actively taken steps to help them, as it happened in Motoko's case.

Of course, Naru wasn't all that happy with how things turned out between Motoko and Emiya, but considering the alternative what right did she have to complain? Especially while Motoko was being like that.

The sword-maiden, sitting at her side eating slowly, had changed much. To a casual observer there might have not been any noticeable difference, but to the tenants of the Hinata-sou it was a clear as day. Her diligence was renewed, and though she had yet to start training with her new teacher it was evident that there was much more passion in her morning exercises.

That could be chalked up to Motoko being Motoko, of course, but it didn't justify everything else. The raven haired beauty was much more easy-going, smiled more often and was less prone to scold Kitsune for her lax behavior. In fact, she now appeared able to appreciate her jokes and crack a few of her own.

For the life of her, Naru couldn't think it as anything but an improvement, therefore she couldn't accept her knee-jerk reaction of blaming the closest man for the slightest fault she could imagine.

When had she become such a hateful person? Living at the Hinata-sou with only women as her company and shrinking away from interacting with her peers, seeking refuge in her studies, she hadn't noticed that her mistrust of men in general had grown to the point of being nearly unjustifiable, even to her own eyes.

That was not good. No matter how deeply she had been wronged, that wasn't an excuse to become a horrible person. She had to do something about it, she decided.

* * *

><p>Tock. Tock.<p>

The sound of knuckles hitting the door snapped Shirou out of his studies. A single glance at the table clock showed that it was already well past dinnertime. The visitor was probably Shinobu taking him some food as requested.

"Come on in," he called out. To his surprise, when the door opened, it wasn't Shinobu holding the tray but Narusegawa. He couldn't help but stare long after she had walked in and closed the door behind her. He was in fact so surprised that he didn't react when she hit him lightly over the head with the very same tray.

"Ouch."

"That's what you get for spacing out like an idiot," the brunette said placing the food in front of him. "Here's your dinner. Eat up before it gets cold."

"Thanks," he replied still taken aback. For the briefest moment he wondered if she had poisoned his food, but then he shook it off and dug into his dinner. He was extremely famished.

While he ate, Narusegawa looked over at his papers, frown increasing as she went from one to another.

"Hey," she looking at him with a mixture of pity and annoyance, "do you really think you have any chance of getting into Toudai with these results?"

"Eh, well I-"

"You're hopeless," she slammed his papers back on the table, causing the plates to clatter loudly. "There's no way you're going to even get past the preliminary exams with these grades."

"I know that, but-"

"No excuses," she all but yelled. "If I'd just let you like this you'd be stuck here as a manager for the rest of your life. I cannot allow that. I definitely cannot allow that."

"Narusegawa, what are you-?"

"Therefore from now on I'm going to tutor you," she finally declared.

"Huh

" What's with that look? I'll have you know that I ranked first at the national prep exams."

"Well, it's not like I don't believe you Narusegawa-san," Shirou replied with carefully measured words, "but I really don't get why you would want to help me. I thought you hated me."

"I don't like you," Narusegawa nodded. "I definitely don't like you," she took a deep breath. "But I was wrong about you. Don't! I don't want to hear a word about it. I was being unreasonable and I know it. So... consider this my way of apologizing. But don't get any strange idea in that head of yours, you hear me? I'm doing this only for me in the end, you got it? We'll start tomorrow afternoon. Make sure to be prepared. I won't have you slow me down any more than needed."

She then stood and left abruptly, leaving behind a shell-shocked landlord.

"I... didn't even get to say thank you for the food," the redhead mused staring at the door. "I'll never understand women."

* * *

><p>"Smooth Naru, real smooth," the brunette sighed once she was back in her room. "That was the worst apology in history."<p>

"You got that right," Kitsune agreed right beside her.

"BWAAAH!" Naru shouted nearly jumping out of her skin in fright. "Ki-Ki-Kitsune. W-what are you doing in here? When did you get in?"

"Five minutes ago. I wanted to share a drink with you," the vulpine woman waved her bottle of sake, "but you were nowhere to be found. Who would have thought you were putting your moves on the manager."

"Wha- I'm not putting my moves on anyone, especially not that man. Wait, how do you know about my conversation to begin with?"

Kitsune simply pointed at an empty glass placed upside down on the floor, as a makeshift listening device. With Naru's room being right on top of the manager's, Kitsune had easily heard everything.

"Kitsune!" the brunette roared in outrage. "There should be a limit to how much you invade other people's privacy."

"Eeeh," the fox sighed, "where would be the fun in that. Besides Naru, don't try to change the subject. I noticed you were more quiet than usual at dinner, but I never thought you would have skipped your route entirely and triggered the first flag yourself."

"... Route? Flag? You know, I don't think I want to know what you're talking about."

"You really oughta play more often, Naru," the older girl replied.

"I don't really have time for that."

"Especially now that you're going to tutor," and she stressed the last word sultrily, "our landlord. Aren't you a smart one? Motoko had barely begun sinking her nails into him and you regained all the lost ground by making yourself into her Sensei's sensei. Smooth Naru, real smooth."

"Shut up. It's nothing of the sort. I just went to apologize for overreacting all the time and frankly the sooner he gets through university the sooner he gets out of here."

"And you put on the Tsundere act perfectly," Kitsune continued. "It makes thing a bit harder for him, but we have already established that he's the kind of man that shows his best traits under pressure. Oh, I can already see the romance developing. The long study sessions, late into the night, long after everyone else went to sleep. Two young people growing closer and closer under the challenge of a difficult test-"

"That's it!" Naru exploded. "I've had enough of this."

She grabbed Kitsune by her shirt and proceeded to drag her out of the room, all the while she ranted her nonsense unbothered.

"Remember to use protection," was the last thing the brunette heard before the door closed in her friend's face.

"Argh!" Naru groaned. "You're too much sometimes Kitsune. Really too much."

* * *

><p>Behind the now closed door, Kitsune sighed.<p>

"You really oughta let it go, Naru," she said to herself, since she knew her friend couldn't hear her. "It's already been two years and you can't even take a joke."

She shook her head and left. Though her words usually fell on deaf ears, she wouldn't stop trying to rescue her friend. It was just a matter of trying harder.

* * *

><p>No matter how many times she did it, Tohsaka Rin didn't really like to ride planes. It wasn't only because the most advanced products of modern day technology had a habit to malfunction in her general vicinity, and despite what Shirou said it wasn't her fault, but mostly she disliked the fact that she wasn't in control in the slightest. If something went wrong she wouldn't fare better than any other passenger, Magus or not.<p>

However, if there was one thing she disliked more than riding vehicles she wasn't driving or piloting, it was allowing idiots to get away with their idiocy. Therefore she swallowed her distaste for planes, set aside her business and scheduled a flight back to her home country: Japan.

Now her hand, and more precisely her fist, was itching. Badly. She needed to scratch it. On Emiya Shirou's face.

* * *

><p>Motoko's head was throbbing painfully. Going back to school after a few days of absence with a different family name, not too long after the news of her defeat at the hand of a man had spread through the institute, caused all manner of rumors to spring up.<p>

Sadly they weren't all that unfounded thought they all missed the mark completely.

Yes, she now bore the family name of the only man who ever defeated her. No, she wasn't married to him. No, it wasn't her family custom to give their daughters to whoever managed to best them. Yes, she was now his apprentice and ward. No, she wouldn't date anyone even if they managed to win a duel against her.

And finally, no, they most certainly hadn't _done it_, as someone had crudely put it.

It served little purpose to argue with them, as apparently they completely ignored any answer she gave, when they even bothered to ask questions anyway. By the time the last period's bell had rung everyone knew at least of her new name and conjectures had only become wilder and wilder.

Was she really that popular? She hadn't even noticed it a few weeks before, caught as she was in her own distaste for half of the human population. It appeared that she even had some sort of fan club to her name, the members of which were now grieving for her "loss of purity" as she heard someone say.

Those were the kind of people even Sensei would have agreed deserving to be punished by her sword, right? Right?

She thought so, but she didn't want to find out. Certainly she wasn't about to disappoint him on the very first day. Therefore she left school in a hurry; head lowered and face burning in shame, to make a hasty retreat home, where the worst she had to deal with was Kitsune's jokes. She could take those. In fact she'd welcome them.

She was so much in a hurry that she didn't notice the person standing at the bottom of the stairs to the dorm, looking toward the top, until she bumped right into them.

* * *

><p>As it usually happens, trouble comes forth unannounced. That it's not to say that Shirou hadn't expected it. However he had firmly believed that this very specific trouble would not come looking for him but rather it would expect him to show up himself.<p>

How foolishly naïve.

As such, Emiya Shirou found himself experiencing a relatively new emotion, one that he wasn't very accustomed to: fear for his own life.

"Hello, Shirou. How have you been doing?"

Her words were so calm, her tone so peaceful, that one would have been led to believe she was actually in a good mood. However that smile, that sickeningly sweet and absolutely fake smile, would not fool anyone who knew Tohsaka Rin as well as Emiya Shirou did, nor would be mistaken for anything else but an ill omen.

Now, being the practically minded individual that he was and seeing that there was no third party at risk, faced with an opponent he couldn't fight and much less win, he did the only reasonable thing available.

He bolted for the door.

"Like," Rin said pulling up a foot and reaching for her shoe with her hand, smile still in place though her mask was offset by the throbbing vein on her forehead, "I'd" she swung her arm all the way behind her shoulder and then forward, "LET YOU!"

The shoe flew and spun, impossibly fast, inhumanly precise, hitting its mark right in the back of his head.

Emiya Shirou's escape ended not three steps after it had begun, with his face hitting the floor and skidding on it for several meters due to his own momentum and the strength from the attack he just received.

In hindsight, teaching Rin how to aim properly hadn't been his brightest idea. Curse you own foolishness and repent, Emiya Shirou.

Under the shocked stare of four other girls, Rin approached his fallen form, elegantly putting her shoe back on mid-walk, and put the very same foot on his defeated back, arms crossed over her chest, in a show of victory.

"Yo, Rin," the redhead greeted with his face still firmly planted on the wooden surface of the floor. In response Rin only dug her foot harder into his spine.

Some days just weren't worth getting out of bed.

* * *

><p>Motoko's mind reached an abrupt stop.<p>

When the person she bumped into just outside of the property, Tohsaka Rin, said she was an acquaintance of Sensei, she had been more than glad to accompany her to meet him. She recalled her name from the conversation she had shamefully eavesdropped weeks prior, and the cordial terms he was with that person on the other end of the line.

This person was likely very close to him, if she hadn't misheard and misinterpreted the affectionate tone he used to address her on the phone.

It made her feel strange, in an unpleasant way, annoyed even. She chalked it up to being already low on patience from the earlier events at school. However, for the few short minutes they had been together on the way she had compared herself to this other woman on different levels and under different aspects.

She wasn't able to reach any conclusion, especially why she was even entertaining such thoughts, but it bothered her. This person bothered her. An instantaneous dislike for no particular reason whatsoever.

Just a few weeks before she would have put on a shameful act or another out of this perceived slight, but now she avoided making a fool out of herself. She would treat Sensei's guest with the utmost respect.

That was the conclusion she had reached, therefore her body and mind froze when, upon seeing her, Sensei paled considerably and instead of welcoming his guest spun around and tried to escape.

The situation became entirely surreal when not only she attacked him with a smile, but even managed to down him with a single, masterful strike, not to mention that he allowed her to trample over his body without a reaction.

Just who on Earth was this person?

* * *

><p>The sound of a blade being pushed from its sheath drew Rin's attention from the fool under her foot. Her eyes went to the raven haired schoolgirl who had accompanied her from the bottom of the stair. She hadn't entirely removed the sword, but just pushed it out with her thumb enough for the blade to be visible. A warning couldn't get any more obvious than that. Her posture was straight and her eyes calm, if cold, regarding her with an examining stare far different from the not-so-secretive glances she had stolen on the way to the inn.<p>

Around her other tenants regarded her with mixed emotions. A long haired brunette regarded her with a mix of awe and surprise, similarly to a brown haired woman with shorter hair, broad chest and vulpine eyes. The latter seemed far more amused than the former by Shirou's current position.

A younger girl with short black hair seemed frozen on the spot, clutching the basket of clean laundry in her hands like it would protect her from, well, Rin.

"Yo, Rin," the redhead on the floor greeted, causing her attention to return to him. She twisted her foot further into his back.

"Don't you think that you should have greeted me before running away, Shirou?" she asked sarcastically, anger seeping into her voice.

"Didn't seem like a good idea at the time," he replied evenly, despite being held face down on the floor. "By the way, are you planning to stand on my back much longer? It's starting to get uncomfortable."

With a weary sigh, Rin removed her foot, allowing him to stand up again. "That's what you get for trying to escape," she told him; then whispered, "don't you think this is the end of it either."

She was satisfied with seeing a drop of sweat making its way down his forehead. For now.

"Oi, Shirou," the fox-like woman approached casually, "mind introducing your amusing friend here?"

"Right," he replied swatting his clothes. "Everyone, this is Tohsaka Rin, a friend of mine back from Fuyuki. Rin, this is Konno Mitsune-san, Narusegawa Naru-san, Maehara Shinobu-san and..." he stopped in his tracks, eyes wide in sudden realization, as he was about to introduce the swordswoman.

"Shirou?"

"Well..." he gulped.

"I am Emiya Motoko," the raven haired beauty said, bowing. "Pleased to make you acquaintance, Tohsaka-san."

Slowly, as if it took a great effort, Rin turned to look at Shirou with her fake smile in place. The redhead didn't meet her stare, choosing to look the other way, sweating bullets.

"Shirou," she said sweetly, promises of pain dripping into her voice, "we are going to have words, right?"

"Yes, Rin," he replied resignedly.

* * *

><p>"So, you're from Fuyuki," Kitsune asked once they all sat at the table with tea in front of them. "I guess you're one of his friends who lived at his place."<p>

"Oh, Shirou mentioned that? Yes, though I've been living in London for the past three years."

"London?" the swordswoman interjected. "I remember sensei saying he used to share his place with someone over there. Was that you?"

"Sensei?" Rin blinked, glancing at Shirou.

"It's a long story," the only male replied. "A very long story."

"Let me guess," she started, "it involves you being your usual idiot self, sticking your head into someone else's problem and getting out with more burdens to your name than what you started with."

"That's... a surprisingly accurate summation," Kitsune stammered. "Does he do that often?"

"More like all the time," Rin sighed, sipping at her tea. "You don't think that several young women ended up living under the same roof as him for no particular reason, did you?"

"Now that I know Shirou," the fox continued glancing from the manager to the girl who had his family name, "that makes so much sense. Did he help with your family issues as he did with Motoko here?"

"Family issues... it's an over-simplification, but it's essentially correct."

"It's not that bad, Rin," Shirou protested hearing her resigned voice.

"_You_ are that bad, Shirou. Then again, I also know there's no point in discussing this subject with you. It's not like you ever listened to reason, anyway."

"We had this conversation before."

"More times than I care to count," Rin nodded. "And you still didn't learn a thing."

"Did you come all the way from London just to tell me I'm an idiot to my face?"

"No. Doing that over the phone was good enough. I had a few more _subjects_," she stressed the word glaring at him, "that can't properly be discussed if not in person."

"I don't know what you did, Shirou, but it sounds like you're in trouble," Kitsune chuckled.

"Just a moment," Motoko intervened. "I'm not sure what your relationship with Sensei is, Tohsaka-san, but in spite of that I can hardly accept someone coming over to make obvious threats to out manager."

"Well," Rin replied putting down her tea cup slowly, "I too would be more inclined to accept that kind of reproach if it didn't come from a person who repeatedly tried to hit him with a wooden sword out of some perceived slight."

Rin knew she had struck true when Motoko's gaze fell and her face flush deep red. Surprisingly, it was Shirou who spoke next.

"Rin," his voice had none of the subdued tone he had before in addressing her, "don't."

Rin blinked, opening her mouth to form a response. Her gaze locked with Shirou for a short moment and her mouth closed without saying anything. With just two words, spoken softly but firmly the atmosphere shifted entirely.

"I apologize," Rin inclined her head. "I was rude."

"No, you were correct and I was out of place as well," Motoko bowed. "If Sensei is willing to have you here, then it's not my place to argue, or to judge."

Kitsune glanced back and forth between Shirou and Rin, with a single eye open just a little bit more than usual. She considered herself a good judge of character and if there was one thing she had surmised from Rin's unconventional greeting is that she was outspoken, headstrong and probably even very proud. That kind of person wasn't easily cowed, nor would they give up making her opinion known one way or another without a good reason.

Yet, it only took a couple of words and a meaningful exchange of glances for her to backtrack and apologize. That wasn't something that could happen between casual acquaintances or two simple friends. It denoted enough trust between them to make her defer to his judgment of a given situation without questioning. In addition, Kitsune didn't delude herself into thinking that Shirou couldn't have avoided that shoe earlier, nor did she think he had been struck so hard that he couldn't have gotten up before she reached him. To her eyes it meant that he understood the reason for why she was upset and let her vent her anger in that unconventional manner, while he had not allowed the similar behaviors from them.

Understanding that, it didn't take a genius to figure out that these two were actually very close in spite of how it appeared at first glance.

"Whoa, everyone relax," she intervened, playing peacekeeper. "No need to be so stiff. Tohsaka-san, I take that you're staying in Japan for a while right?"

"Hm? Yes, that's the plan. It was high time I took a vacation, anyway, so I'll probably be staying a couple of weeks and paying a visit to my relatives."

"Fantastic. Have you ever been to the hot-springs here in Hinata? They are some of the best in Japan. In fact we have one right here in this dormitory. Unless you weren't planning to leave right away, that is?"

"Actually, I was planning of spending the night and then move back to Fuyuki tomorrow morning. I was hoping Shirou would be so kind as to let me spend the night in his recently acquired dormitory."

"Ah, about that, Rin," Shirou objected. "I don't think it would be appropriate for you to stay here."

"Why not, Shirou?" Kitsune asked, surprised that he would refuse hospitality to a friend.

"I thought this was a women dormitory," Rin agreed. "Are there other requirements besides being female to stay here?"

"Yeah, she's right. What's the matter with her staying here?"

"Well, even if I live here this is still my working place."

"Oh," Rin said casually using her hand to push her long black hair behind her shoulders. "Then is it because we are lovers?"

Kitsune lost her balance and almost fell at Rin's blunt and causal revelation of her relationship with Shirou. Similarly the others seemed to be taken aback with varying degrees of surprise mixed with indignation, thought it wasn't all that clear who or what the latter was directed at. Even Shirou himself looked like he had been bludgeoned over the head, if his slightly open mouth, wide eyes and red cheeks were any indication, though he was the fastest of the group to recover.

"You used to be more subtle than this, Rin" he grumbled looking everywhere but everyone else's eyes.

"Yes, but I was forced to learn that subtlety is wasted on people that don't get a point even when it's explained in clear terms. Don't worry though, I had no intentions to -how would you say it– indulge in improper activities. Or was it you who were thinking of doing something tonight?"

"Wha- But I haven't... Oh, just forget it," he said rubbing his temple as if suppressing a headache. "Do what you want. It's not like I ever got something out of arguing with you besides a deeper grave for myself. "

"Ah, so you can learn after all. Don't worry I won't impose. I'm going to move my luggage if you show me my room."

"Right, better have this over and done with as soon as possible."

* * *

><p>"Sensei's…. lover?" Motoko stuttered like she had just been slapped, mind spinning wildly.<p>

"Uuuuh," Shinobu moaned in the background.

"Ha… ha ha ha, " Kitsune chuckled awkwardly. "I didn't expect her to be so direct about it. I definitely underestimated her."

"Uuuuh."

"How brazen," Naru agreed calmly, evidently the least upset of the lot, though there was an edge of annoyance in her voice.

"Uuuuh."

"Well, that explains why Shirou reacted as she did earlier. Of course he wouldn't raise a hand on his woman," Kitsune analyzed. "But lovers..."

"Uuuuh."

"What is it?" Naru inquired.

"Uuuuh."

"She said lovers, like they are just physically involved. Speaking for myself if there was, you know, commitment, I'd have worded it differently."

"Uuuuh."

"So... are you saying that they're only, what, friends with benefits?"

"Uuuuh."

"What benefits?" Motoko cut in, having recovered from the initial shock.

"Uuuuh?"

"They have sex," Kitsune explained blatantly.

"Kitsune!" Naru almost shouted. "Shinobu is listening."

"Nah," Kitsune scoffed and waved her hand in front of the petite girl's eyes without getting a reaction. "See? Completely out of it."

"Uuuuuh," Shinobu continued unperturbed.

"... Will she be alright?" Motoko asked worriedly.

"She'll get over it," Kitsune nodded. "Anyway, this is the perfect chance to find out more about Shirou."

"Kitsune," Motoko began with a dangerous edge to her voice, hand slipping toward the hilt of her sword. "Certainly you don't intend to violate Sensei's privacy?"

"It's not a violation if she answers my questions," Kitsune replied smile widening, "besides didn't you want to know more about your Sensei too?"

Motoko looked conflicted for a moment, and then her hand eased. "I suppose."

"Then it's agreed," Kitsune pumped her fist. "It's girl's gossiping time."

"Whatever," Naru scoffed.

With that decided, they each went about their business in preparation for the questioning to come.

"Uuuuh."

Except Shinobu. It would still take her a few minutes to return to consciousness.

* * *

><p>"Was that really necessary?" Shirou asked as he carried Rin's luggage to one of the empty rooms.<p>

"How long have you been here, Shirou?" She asked. "Two months? In that time these woman who wanted to boot you out, forcefully even, have warmed up to you. One even has her last name changed to be the same as yours."

"So?"

"So you have talent for growing on people, Shirou, whether you like it or not. However, you're not the kind of person one should get closer too easily."

"I agree with that, but how does this relate to my question?"

"A line had to be drawn," Rin explained coolly. "Knowing that you are already... close to someone should give them a bit of pause."

"You're saying that like they are rushing at me or something," Shirou mumbled under his breath, but still loud enough for her to hear.

Rin sighed. "That naivety of yours makes you ten times more dangerous than you'd be otherwise, Shirou."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Tohsaka-san," Kitsune called from the end of the corridor as she approached. "You must be tired from your trip. We were going to take a bath in the hot-spring. Would you like to join us?"

"Well, I suppose I am a bit stressed from the plane ride and the jet lag. A nice bath is really what I need right now."

"Go right ahead, Rin. I'll put your things into your room."

"Don't mind if I do," Rin agreed happily, following after Kitsune.

"I'm still naïve?" Shirou asked to himself once he was alone, wondering exactly in what aspect he was still so flawed. Not finding an answer within himself he shrugged and went ahead with his job.

* * *

><p>"Aaah," Rin exhaled in contentment while her body soaked in the thermal waters. "This is great."<p>

"They don't have this kind of baths in Europe, do they?" Kitsune asked amusedly.

"There are a few," Rin confirmed. "But none near London. Nothing beat a hot bath when you're tired."

"I hear you," Kitsune laughed in agreement.

"Like you knew the first thing about being tired," Naru quipped at her old friend.

"Oh, shut up you!" the fox laughed and splashed her friend.

Rin laid back and relaxed, even enjoying the mild racket made by the two girls. However, her rest was impaired by the intense staring and the raw killing intent directed at her.

She turned her head to the left, where the raven haired swordswoman was looking at her with a neutral if curious stare. She wasn't the source of the killing intent, so Rin shifted her gaze a bit more to the left, where the head of a younger girl was poking from the water just enough for her narrowed eyes to be visible above the surface.

Upon being realizing she was being stared back, the girl disappeared entirely under water.

_'Is she a kappa?'_ Rin wondered amusedly. That girl, Shinobu, was probably the one Rider told her about over the phone, with a blatant crush on Shirou.

"If you don't mind me asking, Tohsaka-san," Motoko started, "what is it that you do exactly in London?"

"I study and work as a researcher for a private organization," the Magus answered simply.

"You look a bit young to be a researcher," Naru said while she pushed Kitsune's head under the water. The busty woman flailed uselessly trying to breathe. "What do you research exactly?"

"Refractive phenomena and energy storage in crystal structures."

"That, uh, sounds interesting...," Kitsune lied, emerging from the water and glaring at Naru, "but can you put it in laymen terms?"

"I'm afraid I'm bound by an agreement of confidentiality," Rin shook her head. "I really can't divulge much more than that, well, besides that it's heavily involved with the jewelry business."

"Oh, I guess that it's a well-paid job then."

"No, not really," Rin laughed bitterly. "The biggest share of the income goes into the research itself, so I don't really make much for myself. Thankfully the lodging is included with the course otherwise I'd be having a really hard time."

"I see, I see. Is it the same place where Shirou studied?"

"Hm? He told you about that? Yes, he did study there for a year or so, though his field of application was basic metallurgy."

"I don't get it," Naru intervened. "I thought he traveled the world for a few years, but he still found a place as a researcher in a private institute?"

"Ah, I see how that would sound strange. Truth to be told it's a fairly uncommon place that places stock more on what a person is capable of rather than any actual academic titles one might have, and it's accessible exclusively by invitation."

"Sound shady," Kitsune laughed, but her eyes were sharp and inquisitive, not at all amused.

"I know, I know, but it's one of the few places that actually focuses exclusively on research for the sake of discovery rather than sheer profit, so they aren't really bound by common procedures."

"Ah, like a NPO then?"

"Yes, it's something along those lines."

"I wonder how Shirou went from studying in London to trying to get into Toudai," Kitsune said to no one in particular.

"Hey! It's one of the best institutions in the world," Naru replied a bit offended. "I don't know about _this place_ he used to attend, but Toudai has the best courses in Japan and it's fully accredited. Graduates have a fast lane in any field they majored in."

"Yes," Rin agreed, not at all fazed by the evident disregard of the validity of the Association as a learning institute. "It's exactly like that. Shirou isn't the kind of person to invest time in researching for the sake of it, so he dropped out after he learned everything he could on the topic."

"That sound like Sensei, indeed" Motoko agreed with a nod. "He did quit archery once he mastered it, as well."

"I completely forgot about that. Wow, now that I think about it, isn't Shirou some sort of genius?"

"Genius? Shirou?" Rin couldn't hold back her laughter at Kitsune's statement. "Far from it. You could say that he's quite average in most regards."

"He doesn't sound average to me," Motoko protested in defense of her Sensei.

"No, no. Don't misunderstand me. Shirou is not average per se he just doesn't have that many talents as you seem to believe. In fact, you could say that his only real gift is the capacity to single-mindedly focus on a goal and purse it regardless of the difficulty. In those terms, I don't think you could find anyone more gifted than he is."

"So... he's stubborn," Naru summed up perfectly.

"The most stubborn man of all," Rin nodded. "I'm sure you have noticed by now."

"Yeah," all of the girls agreed equally, with different feelings backing up their answers.

* * *

><p>Kitsune eyed Rin carefully.<p>

This person who claimed to be Shirou's lover wasn't at all like she thought Shirou's lover would be. She was outspoken and obviously proud, all traits that Shirou would probably appreciate. However, in spite of her best assumptions, Tohsaka Rin was, surprisingly, rather flat-chested.

Was it a miscalculation on her part? Didn't all man like big boobs? Could it be that it was her chest size that made her unattractive in Shirou's eyes? The thought alone was repulsive. Then again Shirou didn't seem all that responsive to Rider's assets either, so perhaps that was the key.

Damn it, she used to think that her breast was one of her strong points. Who would think it would backfire on her? She had to find something to work around that handicap and the best source of knowledge was right before her.

"So you and Shirou, uh?" Kitsune asked noncommittally.

"Yes, that's right" Rin answered just as casually as she rinsed her body.

Damn, Kitsune thought she'd be more forthcoming with just a little prodding, but apparently subtle didn't work on her.

"How big is he?" she asked bluntly.

**"KITSUNE!"** the other girls shouted in embarrassed outrage.

Rin blinked twice, but instead of being embarrassed she just lifted her hands from beneath the water and held them at a certain distance.

"Oh," she bit her finger, pondering. "Somehow I thought it would be bigger-_bluargh_."

"Ah hah ha," Naru chuckled embarrassed by her friend's antics. The very same friend who was again being held underwater. "Don't mind her. She really doesn't know when to shut up."

"I really don't mind," Rin shrugged.

"I don't understand you," Motoko said, face still aflame. "What are you trying to get with this charade?"

"Hm? Whatever do you mean?"

"I'm not the foremost expert on people and relationship," the swordswoman admitted, "but I cannot help but think your shameless attitude is forced and not your real persona at all."

"Hmpf," Rin snorted, half-amused and half-appreciative. "I didn't think I would have been seen through so quickly."

"I was correct then. What is the purpose of this ruse? Is this an attempt to state you claim on Sensei?"

"That would make sense," Kitsune said emerging from the water. "Being on the other side of the world makes dealing with the competition a little difficult. Gotta dig your nails in when you have the chance."

"You... think this is for my benefit?" Rin blinked, putting a hand over her mouth to suppress a bout of laughter. "You think, _hihihihi_, that I'm jealous?"

"Is it not?" Motoko asked with a lifted eyebrow.

Slowly Rin schooled herself. "Not at all. Actually let me tell you this: if any of you at any time is able to win Shirou's affection I'd be really glad."

A heavy silence fell upon the bathhouse then, slowly as if it had been building up Motoko stood to her feet.

"What?"

That single word was delivered with such a level of enmity that the other girls stepped back unconsciously.

"You heard it right," Rin nodded unfazed. "If you are able to win Shirou's heart then I couldn't be happier. However, I'd like to warn you beforehand, that's not going to happen."

"Why?" Shinobu asked from behind Naru, where she had sought shelter from Motoko's anger.

"I'll let our resident swordswoman answer that question. You who bear the same name as he does, do you think that Emiya Shirou is a man that would put down roots and engage in a normal relationship or start a normal family?"

Motoko paused, anger subsiding, pondering over Rin's word.

"I don't believe so," she answered with the tone of voice of someone who had just realized something important.

"Motoko? Why do you say that?"

"Sensei is... like a sword. There is steel inside him and a burning passion the likes of which I have never seen in anyone else before. He doesn't show it without purpose, just like a blade is not drawn if there isn't anything to cut, but at the same time there is no purpose to a blade that is never drawn. There is no way a person like that would be bound to a single place for too long."

"How oddly appropriate that you would use that metaphor," Rin chuckled. "But it's mostly correct. Shirou is not the kind of person that seeks or desire a normal life, so the thought of being jealous of him never really entered my mind."

"It's okay," Naru waved her hand in dismissal. "I don't have the slightest interest in him."

"Good for you then," Rin nodded, standing to get out of the bath. "As for the rest of you, do as you like but take my warning. There's no happiness to be found with him and his heart, well, is not something that that any living person will ever be able to claim completely. That ability... belonged to someone else."

"What do you mean, Tohsaka-san?" Shinobu asked eagerly.

"The answer to that question goes beyond what I have the right to say. If you really want to know, ask him. Finally, Motoko-san, there was just one thing wrong with your description of Shirou. He is not _like_ a sword."

With that she left the bathroom and headed for the changing room, leaving the girls to ponder on the true meaning of her words.

* * *

><p>XXX<p>

* * *

><p>Author's note<p>

So here's another chapter. Strangely there isn't much I have to say about this one as it should be fairly clear. If you have any doubts feel free to PM or visit the forum (not the Spoiler's one). Don't forget to review either.

The next chapter is already in the works, but I'm not sure if this story will be updated next or if it's going to be Path of the King.

Either way, I'll see you soon.

Thanks for reading.


	17. Growth

**Interlude – Growth  
><strong>(beta: Obiki Doragon – Published: 04.29.2015)

* * *

><p>Rin's finger traced a line along Shirou's bare chest, sending a shiver down his spine. Her breath, so close to his skin, made his heart run faster.<p>

With enticing slowness, a bead of sweat made its way down her neck and into her cleavage, disappearing from sight. Eyes closed, Rin frowned and let out an audible sigh when her hand rested on top of Shirou's heart.

Then the Crest on her arm faded out and disappeared entirely.

"Idiot."

"You have become repetitive lately, Rin." he teased. "You might want to expand your repertoire of insults."

The Magus glared. "Would that help you be any less stupid?"

"Nah, I don't think so."

She shoved him with both hands and he fell back on the hotel's bed, chuckling. Rin stood from her kneeling position and put her shirt back on.

"You should be fine, at least physically. The erosion hasn't advanced any from the last checkup, but it's your mental state I'm worried about."

Shirou kept to himself that his metal state was beyond helping since long before they even met. There's just so much one can beat a dead horse, though Rin would probably be of different counsel.

"I'll be fine." he replied rolling his arm. "I don't mind losing against others, but there's no way I'll lose against myself."

Rin scoffed and shook her head. "Anybody else, I'd call bullshit on that. You… Well, I've seen you shrug off things that would have put a stop to anyone short of Berserker. Just… don't make me pick up the pieces if it turns out that you're wrong, alright? That goes double for Sakura."

Shirou inclined his head in acceptance. Truthfully, he didn't think there wouldn't be any pieces to pick up if he screwed up. Literally.

"I know. Don't worry, I'm not planning on dying anytime soon."

"Your behavior isn't really indicative of that." the petite Magus snapped.

"Our paths are different, but you _walk with death_ as much as I do, Rin. No, don't tell me that being a member of the Clock Tower is any less dangerous of a lifestyle. At least my enemies are clear about their intentions. Yours play the game of cloak and dagger at a level that would have any _'Old Man of the Mountain'_ taking notes fervidly."

"Well, at least I don't go looking for them," Rin barked back.

"You should." Shirou chuckled. "Initiative is victory."

"Five years ago, you wouldn't have said something like that."

"I couldn't tell my ass from my elbows five years ago, Rin." the redhead replied dead serious.

It finally managed to get a smirk out of her.

"At least you can admit as much. There is still a bit of hope for you."

She walked to him, straddling his waist as he sat on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"I won't go back on my promises, you know that."

"I know," she whispered, "but I still worry."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"No, you are not," she gave a half-scoff. "You are selfish like that."

"Is that so?" Shirou smirked. "Then I'll be a little more selfish while I'm at it."

"Idiot."

A minute later Rin's shirt hit the floor, the rest of her clothes following suit in short order.

Her half-hearted complaints fell on deaf ears and moments later she had forgotten about them entirely.

* * *

><p>Outside of their window, a small metal sphere hovered in mid-air unnoticed, sustained by an equally small propeller. Its camera zoomed in for a moment, relaying the images it captured before speeding away and disappearing into the dark sky of the evening.<p>

* * *

><p>Kitsune was many things, but a fool was not one of them. Rin and Shirou had left separately shortly after dinner and they returned at different times as well, but the resident fox could see it on Rin's face that something pleasant had happened. She wasn't frowning like she had been doing previously, for one thing. She was more relaxed than when she arrived.<p>

It didn't take a genius to figure they had gotten laid.

Well, it wasn't a secret that they were lovers, but still she inevitably compared herself to the manager's choice of women. There was a stark difference between Rin and that Rider, and say what you will, Kitsune was sure that Shirou was hitting that one too. Rider's hadn't been just teasing. Like Rin, she was marking her territory.

So what was the deal with Emiya Shirou?

There was a story there, she could feel it in her bones. His past was clouded in mystery and Rin's vague story only added to it. She had to figure it_ – him – _out. The more she found out, the more there was to discover. Honestly she hadn't been so excited about something in years.

_'Watch yourself, Emiya Shirou. The Fox of Hinata is on the prowl.'_

* * *

><p>Behind the dorm, Motoko swung her blade. Her heart was in turmoil for many reasons, some of which escaped her understanding, and she sought comfort in the practiced movement of her sword style.<p>

She exhaled and sheathed Shisui.

"Something on your mind?" Naru asked from the side.

"Plenty of things as of late. What about you? You are usually holed up in your room studying at this hour."

She shrugged noncommittally. "Are you alright, Motoko?"

"What makes you think I'm not?" her eyes narrowed. "If this is about Sensei…"

"It's about _you_. I get it, Emiya helped you. You respect him and I understand why. He's a great guy, even I can admit that. It's just… things have changed a lot since he arrived."

"You don't like it?"

"Frankly, I don't. Look, I'm not a kid, I know things don't stay the same forever but… the Hinata-sou is my safe place, you girls are like my family and that is changing in a way I can't predict. It… it scares me."

Motoko sighed.

"Yes, I understand, Naru. I feel much the same."

"You do?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes. I have changed. I still am for that matter. Where am I going? Who will I become? The person I am today sees the self of a few weeks ago like someone I could never respect. In a sense, I feel like a newborn baby. I don't know what's what anymore. It is definitely scary."

"A few weeks ago you would have never admitted you were afraid of something either."

"There is that," the sword-maiden nodded. "I don't know where I'm going, Naru. I'm not sure that one day I won't look to my present self without being disgusted as I am with my past self now. I do feel lost, but the truth is that I was long before Sensei came about. What changed is my awareness of that."

"Do you really trust Emiya so much to let him guide you?"

"Trust him to guide me, Naru?" Motoko mused. "I don't expect Sensei to do anything of the sort. He's not my handler and he would never presume as much either, don't you think?"

"Eh. Considering what I've seen from him this far, I don't think so."

"Hm," Motoko nodded. "Sensei won't make my choices for me. He's my Sensei because there are things in him that I wish to see reflected in me one day, but who I'm going to be in the future, as well as the reasons to wield my sword, they are mine to determine."

"You seem to know where you're headed pretty well already."

"Only the general direction," Motoko smiled faintly. "Naru, I know that you have your reservations about Emiya and other men in general. I share some of them, but I think you owe yourself more than just shut yourself in and pretend the world to be always and precisely as you believe it to be."

"Yeah. Easier said than done."

"Nobody said that change is ever easy. I can attest that it's anything but."

"It sucks."

"It's worthwhile," Motoko objected, then smiled, "and _'it sucks'_ as you aptly surmised."

The two friends shared a good-hearted laugh and walked together back to the inn.

* * *

><p><strong>-The next morning-<strong>

"Your aunt owns this place?" Rin asked in front of the tea shop.

"Technically she's my cousin," Shirou nodded. "But yes, I thought you might want to meet her."

"I never thought I'd meet any living relative of yours, to be honest."

"Me neither, but that's a good chance as any to introduce my girlfriend to my family."

"Your wh-? Shirou, w-wait!"

"Haruka-san? Are you in?" he asked, stepping into the shop and ignoring Rin's sputtering protests.

"Over here," the shop owner called from the back room. "I'll be right there."

"Shirou!" Rin hissed. "What do you think you are doing?"

"What? You don't want to meet my family?"

"That's not the point! I'm not-"

"Not what?" he asked, fully turning to her and taking her hand in his. "Rin, I agreed to this open-relationship thing you put forward and I'm sort of fine with it, but I'm not going around pretending you are some… some floozy and not someone very important to me."

Rin's face was of a shade of red that matched her usual shirt. Her mouth was agape and moved wordlessly.

"Well said, Shirou," Haruka approved from right behind him.

"WAAH!" The two Magi screamed nearly jumped out of their skins. "When did you get there?"

"Didn't I say I'd be right here just a moment ago?" the shop-owner asked with a frown, cigarette hanging casually from her lips.

"Yes, but… you know what? Forget it."

"I'll do that. Now, wasn't there someone you wanted to introduce?"

"Right. Haruka, this is Tohsaka Rin, my girlfriend from London. Rin, this is my aunt Urashima Haruka."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," the older woman nodded informally.

"Ah, the pleasure is mine," Rin replied awkwardly, having barely managed to recompose herself.

"Come on," she urged, "take a seat while I prepare some tea. I would really like to know what kind of person my nephew is dating."

"I'll kill you for this," Rin promised under her breath, stomping past him with her face still flushed. Shirou just smiled in response. Although he knew there would be a price to pay, he knew that Rin's bark was always stronger than her bite, though in all honesty neither of those was to be taken lightly.

"So, an open relationship, uh?" Haruka asked casually a minute later as she served the tea.

"Yeah," the duo admitted embarrassedly. That part wasn't something Shirou had intended to divulge.

"Well, I can't say that I'm surprised. Long distance relationships are a difficult thing to manage."

"Spoken from experience?" Rin queried, seeking to escape the spot of a woman with loose morals.

"Rin!" Shirou scolded.

"Nah, don't bother, Shirou" Haruka waved off his concerns, blowing out a lungful of smoke. "As a matter of fact I used to be in such a relationship myself a few years back."

"I honestly hadn't painted you for… uhh, such an open minded person," the redhead observed. "No offense, Haruka-san."

"Oh, I'm not really that open minded, I assure you," she smirked. "I don't think there's any woman who actually loves her partner who is happy knowing he can be with someone else, even if she gets the same rights in return."

"Then why do it at all?" Shirou asked. That question plagued his mind for years and none of the women he was involved with ever gave him a straight answer.

Haruka glanced at Rin, whose hands tightened around her cup as she looked away uncomfortably. An amused smirk graced the face of the older woman.

"Why, it's because you love someone so much that you'd rather know they'll leave but eventually return rather than lose them completely. Having someone willing to put up with that, Shirou, you must really have left a lasting impression."

"Oh… Oh." Shirou was humbled to the point of silence. He glanced at Rin by his side but she didn't dare to meet his eyes. She was never good at dealing with her feelings being exposed, especially not so openly. They both fidgeted in their seat under the amused gaze of the older woman.

"Y-you said you used to be in a similar relationship. W-why did it end if you don't mind me asking?" the female Magus asked, trying to shift the attention from herself.

"Hm?" Haruka inhaled from her cigarette, face twisting in an indiscernible frown. "Cowardice, I would say. We never gotten around to admit how we actually felt and when a mutual loss struck us because of that we couldn't look at each other in the eyes anymore. Things fell apart after that. I can't say it was specifically anyone's fault so there aren't really any hard feelings left. You two don't seem to have the same issue, so I suppose you're safe on that front, but don't ever take things for granted or you won't even notice the moment you lose them."

"Yes, ma'am," the duo promptly agreed.

"Now, let's forget about this heavy subject and let's focus on more important matters."

"Like what?" Shirou asked, worry creeping up his spine.

"Why, embarrassing stories about my nephew's adolescence, of course," Haruka smirked wickedly. An expression that was mirrored by the hapless Magus' girlfriend a moment later.

Shirou closed his eyes in resignation. It looked like Rin's revenge would come sooner than expected.

* * *

><p>-<strong>That afternoon.-<strong>

"So, are you already leaving?" Kitsune asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Yes," Rin confirmed, shutting her luggage close. "I have to visit my family in Fuyuki and then I'm going straight back to London in a couple of days. I don't really have much time to sightsee."

"Pity. I really wanted to show you around the city."

Rin stood, luggage in hand and a smile of courtesy on her face. "I suppose it will have to wait for another time."

"I'll look forward to that. Have a safe trip."

There was nothing pleasant about their exchange and both of them knew it. Kitsune's interest in Shirou's life was had a different tone than the other girls'. She tried to conceal it with her shameless and outgoing behavior, but Rin wasn't that easily fooled. Kitsune too knew she had been seen right through as Rin played the same game as her. During her short time at the Inn, Rin indulged Kitsune's questions about Shirou's life, even the more inane or the most intimate, while sidestepping with experienced ease all inquiries that would reveal anything worthwhile about Rin's lover and their mutual history.

An invisible conflict had sparked between the two of them. A battle of prodding and avoiding the truth without outright lying or rejecting her questions altogether. Kitsune knew the game Rin was playing as it was a perfect counter to her own.

Say what you will, but without a doubt Shirou and Rin were cut from the same cloth. Thinking about it, Rider's shocking visit ultimately had the same effect of not letting Kitsune find anything really useful about them.

There was a pattern here. A conspiracy, if you will, to keep things about Shirou a secret as much as possible, using a pretense of politeness, common reservedness or in Rin's case of obfuscating openness.

Beneath her smiling exterior, Kitsune's investigative blood was boiling. Getting around Shirou's defenses wasn't going to be an easy task, but she'd figure it out even if it took her months or years. Despite what people knew about her, she could be extremely patient. The title of 'fox' wasn't due only to her vulpine expressions.

She was sharp and cunning, and would get at her prey in due time.

* * *

><p>-<strong>Later in the afternoon.-<strong>

Shirou escorted Rin at the train station on foot, walking at a slow pace. Even in the wake of the Holy Grail War things had been anything but quiet for the residents of the Emiya's household. For several months they had to deal with the fallout of the unexplained disappearance of hundreds of people.

The so _called 'Great Fuyuki Disappearance'_ wasn't something that any form of media control could hope to contain, even with all the means, supernatural or otherwise, that the Church and the Association combined could muster. Ultimately their efforts converged on hiding the real cause behind the mystery while fanning the flames of conspiracies that nothing had to do with Magecraft. Still, for close to a year the survivors of the War had to help the process in many ways, all the while maintaining a pretense of normal life.

Leisure wasn't something that graced Emiya's place for a long time and when things finally started to wind down for good, Illya's condition took a sharp turn for the worse, with all that it entailed.

Things such a simple walk together had become a rare luxury for all of them. One they were sure to enjoy to their fullest whenever they had the opportunity.

"Hey, Shirou?"

"Hm?" he answered uncharacteristically lazily.

"Thank you."

Shirou didn't know what she was thanking him for. He didn't think he had done anything worth any gratefulness, however that wasn't something new for the distorted Magus. He never did something for the sake of recognition and as such he gave it no value, which also implied that more often than not he did not understand what other people were being grateful for.

Rin, Sakura and to a degree Rider taught him that this was not healthy. Shirou acknowledged that this was the case, but he felt no compulsion whatsoever to correct the issue. It was a minor thing, but it was a reflection of his lack of consideration for himself whereas others were concerned. No amount of words could change that. Shirou's distortion reached all the way down to his soul and it would one day drive him to his own premature death.

Thus they bound him with their affection. The man who was not able to give appropriate value his own existence and actions was taught to be considerate of the value that other people gave to those same things. It would not stop him, but it forced him to think things through. It was a small saving grace, but it was something.

"You're welcome," he answered back. Rin wasn't the kind of person to disperse gratitude without good cause. If she did go out of her way to express it then it was something really important.

"You don't know what I'm talking about," she said flatly.

"Nope," he agreed readily. "Haven't got a clue."

Rin let out a long drawn sigh.

"The thing you said about me at the tea shop. I really appreciate it."

"Oh," he replied, blushing slightly. "Yeah. You're welcome."

"And I want you to know…," she fell silent, looking down at her feet. "I want you to know that she was right. Haruka, I mean."

Silence again. Awkward, but not uncomfortable. Still blushing, Shirou smiled a little, not so much at her profession of affection, but at the roundabout way she went about it. It seemed that even in those rare occasions in which she was openly honest with her feelings, Rin wasn't able to be direct about them.

"Thank you, Rin. I mean it."

She gave a sharp nod, but did not look up to meet his eyes even now. It was endearing how she could easily bare her body to him but she could not bear her heart in the same fashion, even after years of shared intimacy. Maybe it was this reluctance of hers that made it easy to love her in spite of her difficult and demanding character.

Tohsaka Rin was truly one of a kind. The title of _'Average One_' might have been an honor among Magi, but it certainly didn't do her personality any justice.

They walked the rest of the way without saying another word, just enjoying the luxury of each other's company as well as the unusual peace.

* * *

><p>Shinobu was setting up the table for dinner when Emiya-san returned from seeing Tohsaka-san off. She glanced up at him with a greeting on her lips but the words never left her mouth.<p>

There was a look in his eyes she had never seen before. Not quite sadness or not only that. Perhaps melancholy?

Her heart churned a little in her small chest. Maehara Shinobu was insecure about many things, especially about herself, but if there was one thing she was sure about as of that moment was that she hated seeing him like that.

Hate was not something that came easy to her, not in the purest sense of the word at least, but in this case it slipped on her like a well-worn dress.

She didn't know what to do about it. How to restore that warmth that she had come to privately cherish. She felt more inadequate than ever. Those women that seemed so keen on hurting Emiya-san's feelings were on a completely different league than she was, both in terms of confidence and attractiveness. And yet, whereas in other matters she would have given up, she didn't want to let go.

She wanted to see him smile all the time. She wanted to be the reason for him to smile. She had known him only for a few weeks but she was falling in love with him more and more with each passing day. She would never hurt him or disregard his feeling like those women did, but she could not compete with them.

Or could she? Even if they had the upper hand now they weren't there. If she played her cards right, if she managed to make Emiya-san, Shirou, to see her like a woman maybe she had a chance? The thought alone scared her to the bone, her natural insecurities told her to not even try, however for once in her life a more powerful emotion managed to override her restrains.

Completely unheeding of Tohsaka's warning in merit she came to a determined decision, one that would change her life: to make Emiya Shirou fall in love with her for his own good.

The road to hell is truly paved with good intentions.

* * *

><p>-XXX-<p>

* * *

><p>Last edited: 04.29.2015<p>

* * *

><p>AN: IT'S ALIVEEEEEE!<p>

Well, this should give those people who were convinced this fic was dead something to think about. I'm making no promises about timing of future updates but this story is very much alive, it's just difficult to develop a consistent plot when I'm basically winging each arc (and sometimes each chapter). I also know this is way shorter than my usual chapters but I needed to wrap up Rin's visit so that I could started the next arc without mood-pollution from this part.

That's all for now.

Cheers.

PS: I'll be revising all the previous chapters. There should be no relevant difference in the story after I'm done, just a bit of narrative smoothing .


End file.
